Microcapsules containing citronella essential oil were prepared by complex coacervation and applied to cotton textiles in order to study the repellent efficacy of the obtained fabrics. Citronella released from treated textiles was indirectly monitored by the extractable content of its main components. Repellent activity was assessed by exposure of a human hand and arm covered with the treated textiles to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Fabrics treated with microencapsulated citronella presented a higher and longer lasting protection from insects compared to fabrics sprayed with an ethanol solution of the essential oil, assuring a repellent effect higher than 90% for three weeks. Complex coacervation is a simple, low cost, scalable and reproducible method of obtaining encapsulated essential oils for textile application. Repellent textiles were achieved by padding cotton fabrics with microcapsules slurries using a conventional pad-dry method. This methodology requires no additional investment for textile finishing industries, which is a desirable factor in developing countries.

Functional textiles are being developed in order to provide fabrics with new properties and added value. They can be obtained either by using new chemical fibers or by incorporating functional agents to conventional fabrics. Microencapsulation is an effective method to protect these functional agents from reactions with moisture, light, and oxygen. If a fabric is treated with microencapsulated functional agents, higher durability of functionality is expected. This article reports the development and testing of two types of microcapsules containing essential oils for application in cotton fabrics. Microcapsules were obtained by complex coacervation using gelatin and arabic gum or by encapsulation in yeast cells in order to increase the durability of fragrances in textiles. Microcapsule characterization, such as particle size and morphology, was carried out for different oils to polymer ratios and hardening agents to polymer ratios. Padding and coating were tested as application methods. The morphology, durability of the fragrance, and laundering properties of the treated fabrics were investigated. The use of an electronic nose to measure the fragrance release from microcapsules was also evaluated. Gelatin—arabic gum microcapsules increased the durability of the fragrance on the treated fabrics and withstood one wash cycle. Fabrics treated with yeast cell microcapsules presented low fragrance intensity before washing. The fragrance was not detectable after laundering, even though the microcapsules could still be observed on the fabric.

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In the present study, two methods were used to evaluate the in vitro release of leuprolide acetate (LA) from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres: Franz diffusion cells, typically referred to as "vertical diffusion cells" (VDC), and rotating bottle apparatus (RBA), both modified with a dialysis membrane. This hydrosoluble peptide was chosen as a model drug to study different possibilities of in vitro testing and analyze the variables that affect drug release, respecting sink and physiological conditions. Microspheres were prepared with a conventional double emulsion-solvent evaporation method using PLGA (50:50) with a relatively low molecular weight. Comprehensive stability tests for LA were performed in the conditions used for in vitro release assays. In phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), LA showed no significant degradation, but in an acidic medium, it degraded dramatically. The release profile of the delivery system was governed mainly by diffusion as explained by the low molecular weight of the polymer and the high water solubility of the peptide. The in vitro release profiles were triphasic in vertical diffusion cells and biphasic in the rotating bottle apparatus. The release kinetics was enhanced in RBA with respect to VDC, probably because the constant movement of a suspension of loose microspheres in a large volume and the large membrane area facilitated drug migration. The smoother, triphasic profiles obtained with VDC can be explained by the partial confinement of microspheres, which is similar to the described in vivo behavior of an injectable delivery system.

The archaeolipids (lipids extracted from archaebacterias) are non saponificable molecules that form self sealed mono or bilayers (archaeosomes-ARC). Different to liposomes with bilayers made of conventional glycerophospholipids, the bilayer of ARC posses a higher structural resistance to physico chemical and enzymatic degradation and surface hydrophobicity. In this work we have compared the binding capacity of ARC exclusively made of archaeols containing a minor fraction of sulphoglycophospholipids, with that of liposomes in gel phase on M-like cells in vitro. The biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical 99m Tc-DTPA loaded in ARC vs that of liposomes upon oral administration to Wistar rats was also determined. The fluorescence of M-like cells upon 1 and 2h incubation with ARC loaded with the hydrophobic dye Rhodamine-PE (Rh-PE) and the hydrophilic dye pyranine (HPTS) dissolved in the aqueous space, was 4 folds higher than upon incubation with equally labeled liposomes. Besides, 15% of Rh-PE and 13 % of HPTS from ARC and not from liposomes, were found in the bottom wells, a place that is equivalent to the basolateral pocket from M cells. This fact suggested the occurrence of transcytosis of ARC. Finally, 4 h upon oral administration, ARC were responsible for the 22.3 % (3.5 folds higher than liposomes) shuttling of 99m Tc-DTPA to the blood circulation. This important amount of radioactive marker in blood could be a consequence of an extensive uptake of ARC by M cells in vivo, probably favored by their surface hydrophobicity. Taken together, these results suggested that ARC, proven their adjuvant capacity when administered by parenteral route and high biocompatibility, could be a suitable new type of nanoparticulate material that could be used as adjuvants by the oral route.

In this work, the in vitro anti-Leishmania activity of photodynamic liposomes made of soybean phosphatidylcholine, sodium cholate, total polar archaeolipids (TPAs) extracted from the hyperhalophile archaea Halorubrum tebenquichense and the photosensitizer zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcAL) was compared to that of ultradeformable photodynamic liposomes lacking TPAs (ZnPcUDLs). We found that while ZnPcUDLs and ZnPcALs (130 nm mean diameter and −35 mV zeta potential) were innocuous against promastigotes, a low concentration (0.01 µM ZnPc and 7.6 µM phospholipids) of ZnPcALs irradiated at a very low-energy density (0.2 J/cm 2 ) eliminated L. braziliensis amastigotes from J774 macrophages, without reducing the viability of the host cells. In such conditions, ZnPcALs were harmless for J774 macrophages, HaCaT keratinocytes, and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. Therefore, topical photodynamic treatment would not likely affect skin-associated lymphoid tissue. ZnPcALs were extensively captured by macrophages, but ZnPcUDLs were not, leading to 2.5-fold increased intracellular delivery of ZnPc than with ZnPcUDLs. Despite mediating low levels of reactive oxygen species, the higher delivery of ZnPc and the multiple (caveolin-and clathrin-dependent plus phagocytic) intracellular pathway followed by ZnPc would have been the reason for the higher antiamastigote activity of ZnPcALs. The leishmanicidal activity of photodynamic liposomal ZnPc was improved by TPA-containing liposomes.