Electrochemical and thermal detection of allergenic substance lysozyme with molecularly imprinted nanoparticles

Lysozyme (LYZ) is a small cationic protein which is widely used for medical treatment and in the food industry to act as an anti-bacterial agent; however, it can trigger allergic reactions. In this study, high-affinity molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) were synthesized for LYZ using a solid-phase approach. The produced nanoMIPs were electrografted to screen-printed electrodes (SPEs), disposable electrodes with high commercial potential, to enable electrochemical and thermal sensing. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) facilitated fast measurement (5–10 min) and is able to determine trace levels of LYZ (pM) and can discriminate between LYZ and structurally similar proteins (bovine serum albumin, troponin-I). In tandem, thermal analysis was conducted with the heat transfer method (HTM), which is based on monitoring the heat transfer resistance at the solid–liquid interface of the functionalized SPE. HTM as detection technique guaranteed trace-level (fM) detection of LYZ but needed longer analysis time compared to EIS measurement (30 min vs 5–10 min). Considering the versatility of the nanoMIPs which can be adapted to virtually any target of interest, these low-cost point-of-care sensors hold great potential to improve food safety

Enhancing encapsulation of hydrophobic phyto-drugs naringenin and baicalein in polymeric nano-micelles

Pluronic micelles hold great potential to act as hydrophobic drug delivery carriers; however, there is a pressing need to optimize their use in commercial formulations. This is the first report that describes the loading of phyto-drugs naringenin (NAR) and baicalein (BAC) in different Pluronics F108, F127 and P84 using solvent evaporation method (S.Ev.M) and Direct dissolution method (D.D.M.). Pluronic P84 micelles were able to encapsulate significantly higher amount of both phyto-drugs as compared to other Pluronic micelles. S.Ev.M appreciably enhanced the encapsulation of NAR (19.2 ± 0.438 mg/mL) and BAC (2.593 ± 0.223 mg/mL) compared to D.D.M. (NAR, 10.95 ± 0.212 mg/mL, and BAC, 1.058 ± 0.049 mg/mL) in 5% w/v and 12% w/v Pluronic P84, respectively. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) results showed a spherical morphology after the incorporation of NAR into Pluronic micelles and evidenced that S.Ev.M did not affect the morphology. Sustained release behavior of phyto-drugs was observed from the loaded Pluronic micelles, which was conformed via in vitro release studies. Finally, antioxidant activity was analyzed by ABTS•+ (2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) scavenging assays, with both NAR and BAC loaded P84 micelles (IC50 7.185 and 28.90 μg/mL) showcasing a marked increase in antioxidant properties compared to the pure phyto-drugs NAR and BAC (IC50 13.25 and 53.68 μg/mL) or other Pluronic formulations. Interaction of phyto-drugs and Pluronic P84 has been screened using 1H NMR Spectroscopy (proton nuclear magnetic spectroscopy) and revealed that the whole NAR molecule was encapsulated within the Pluronic micelles. These phyto-drugs hold great potential for use as nutraceuticals and other pharmaceutical applications but currently can't be used due to poor solubilization. Therefore, it can be suggested that preparation of drug loaded Pluronic formulations using S.Ev.M. would be more convenient, fast, and efficient method over D.D.M

Unusual solubilization capacity of hydrophobic drug olanzapine in polysorbate micelles for improved sustained drug release

Polysorbates and Pluronic polymers are straightforward to use to improve the performance of hydrophobic molecules, however, colloidal systems of these polymers are not fully understood and loading of drug molecules in these Polysorbate micelles rely on a plethora of factors. Thus, it is a laborious task to select the optimal Polysorbate as a drug delivery vehicle. To pave the way for use of Polysorbates, three Polysorbates with different hydrophobicity were selected for oral delivery of the hydrophobic drug Olanzapine (OLZ). At higher concentration, Polysorbate T20 with low hydrophobicity accommodated a higher amount of OLZ than other Polysorbates T40 and T60 with higher hydrophobicity. The effect of mixed micelles of Pluronic P84 and Polysorbate (T20, T40, T60) on solubilization of OLZ was also studied at different concentration ratios and the higher OLZ solubilization was found to be in T20:P84 mixed micelles at 3:2 %w/v concentration ratio. Stronger interactions between OLZ and T20 were noticed with isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), resulting in the higher OLZ solubilization in these micelles. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements revealed that mixed micelles of Polysorbates are greater in sizes than pure polysorbate micelles and the size decreased after loading of OLZ. Furthermore, SANS measurements suggested that decrease in the aggregation number after OLZ loading promoted the loading capacity of the Polysorbate micelle. Polysorbates micelles exhibited the sustained release behavior in biological relevant media, examined with in vitro dialysis release method. Therefore, it is believed that the finding of this work could be useful in the oral delivery formulations in which Polysorbates and Pluronics are primarily used