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Research: SEABRA and COLLEAGUES,
Listed in Issue 300
Abstract
SEABRA and COLLEAGUES, 1. i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; INEB-Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; IPATIMUP-Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Portugal; ICBAS-Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.; 2. UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratório de Química Aplicada, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.;3. i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; INEB-Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.; 4. Escola da Saúde, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal.
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- i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; IPATIMUP-Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.; 6. i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; IPATIMUP-Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Portugal; ICBAS-Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.; 7. i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; INEB-Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Portugal; IPATIMUP-Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Portugal. cmartins@ineb.up.pt . aimed to demonstrate the nanoencapsulation of DHA to improve its bactericidal efficacy against H. pylori.
Background
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid present in fish oil, has been described as a promising molecule to the treatment of Helicobacter pylori gastric infection. However, due to its highly unsaturated structure, DHA can be easily oxidized loosing part of its bioactivity. This work aims the nanoencapsulation of DHA to improve its bactericidal efficacy against H. pylori.
Methodology
DHA was loaded into nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) produced by hot homogenization and ultrasonication using a blend of lipids (Precirol ATO5®, Miglyol-812®) and a surfactant (Tween 60®). Homogeneous NLC with 302±14nm diameter, -28±3mV surface charge (dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering) and containing 66±7% DHA (UV/VIS spectroscopy) were successfully produced.
Results
Bacterial growth curves, performed over 24h in the presence of different DHA concentrations (free or loaded into NLC), demonstrated that nanoencapsulation enhanced DHA bactericidal effect, since DHA-loaded NLC were able to inhibit H. pylori growth in a much lower concentrations (25μM) than free DHA (>100μM). Bioimaging studies, using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and also imaging flow cytometry, demonstrated that DHA-loaded NLC interact with H. pylori membrane, increasing their periplasmic space and disrupting membrane and allowing the leakage of cytoplasmic content. Furthermore, the developed nanoparticles are not cytotoxic to human gastric adenocarcinoma cells at bactericidal concentrations.
Conclusion
DHA-loaded NLC should, therefore, be envisaged as an alternative to the current treatments for H. pylori infection. PMID: 28088639 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
References
Seabra CL1, Nunes C2, Gomez-Lazaro M3, Correia M4, Machado JC5, Gonçalves IC3, Reis CA6, Reis S2, Martins MCL7. Docosahexaenoic acid loaded lipid nanoparticles with bactericidal activity against Helicobacter pylori. Int J Pharm.;519(1-2):128-137. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2017.01.014. Epub Jan 11 2017 . Mar 15 2017.