A combined approach of hollow microneedles and nanocarriers for skin immunization with plasmid DNA encoding ovalbumin

Boonnada Pamornpathomkul,1 Adisak Wongkajornsilp,2 Wanida Laiwattanapaisal,3 Theerasak Rojanarata,1 Praneet Opanasopit,1 Tanasait Ngawhirunpat1 1Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Development of Green Innovations Group, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom, 2Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 3Department of Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the use of different types of microneedles (MNs) and nanocarriers for in vitro skin permeation and in vivo immunization of plasmid DNA encoding ovalbumin (pOVA). In vitro skin permeation studies indicated that hollow MNs had a superior enhancing effect on skin permeation compared with solid MN patches, electroporation (EP) patches, the combination of MN and EP patches, and untreated skin. Upon using hollow MNs combined with nanocarriers for pOVA delivery, the skin permeation was higher than for the delivery of naked pOVA, as evidenced by the increased amount of pOVA in Franz diffusion cells and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody responses. When the hollow MNs were used for the delivery of nanocarrier:pOVA complexes into the skin of mice, they induced a stronger IgG immune response than conventional subcutaneous (SC) injections. In addition, immunization of mice with the hollow MNs did not induce signs of skin infection or pinpoint bleeding. Accordingly, the hollow MNs combined with a nanocarrier delivery system is a promising approach for delivering pOVA complexes to the skin for promoting successful immunization. Keywords: hollow microneedle, solid microneedle, electroporation, plasmid DNA encoding ovalbumin, skin immunization, nanocarrie

On-chip microfluidic systems for determination of L-glutamate based on enzymatic recycling of substrate

Two microfluidic systems have been developed for specific analysis of L-glutamate in food based on substrate recycling fluorescence detection. L-glutamate dehydrogenase and a novel enzyme, D-phenylglycine aminotransferase, were covalently immobilized on (i) the surface of silicon microchips containing 32 porous flow channels of 235 μm depth and 25 μm width and (ii) polystyrene Poros™ beads with a particle size of 20 μm. The immobilized enzymes recycle L-glutamate by oxidation to 2-oxoglutarate followed by the transfer of an amino group from D-4-hydroxyphenylglycine to 2-oxoglutarate. The reaction was accompanied by reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to NADH, which was monitored by fluorescence detection (εex=340 nm, εem=460 nm). First, the microchip-based system, L-glutamate was detected within a range of 3.1–50.0 mM. Second, to be automatically determined, sequential injection analysis (SIA) with the bead-based system was investigated. The bead-based system was evaluated by both flow injection analysis and SIA modes, where good reproducibility for L-glutamate calibrations was obtained (relative standard deviation of 3.3% and 6.6%, respectively). In the case of SIA, the beads were introduced and removed from the microchip automatically. The immobilized beads could be stored in a 20% glycerol and 0.5 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid solution maintained at a pH of 7.0 using a phosphate buffer for at least 15 days with 72% of the activity remaining. The bead-based system demonstrated high selectivity, where L-glutamate recoveries were between 91% and 108% in the presence of six other L-amino acids tested