Nanovesicles as Vanillin Carriers for Antimicrobial Applications

Abstract

Vanillin is a natural compound easily extracted from plants. It has neuroprotective, anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-biofilm properties. It also presents high volatility, high hydrophilicity, and low bioavailability. Nanomaterials can be used to improve pharmacodynamics, solubility, and stability and to enhance pharmacokinetics. In this work, non-ionic surfactant vesicles were synthesized as vanillin carriers: neutral niosomes formed by Span60 and cholesterol, positive charged niosomes formulated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and negatively charged niosomes formulated with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Niosomes synthesis was carried out with two commonly used methods: thin film hydration (TFH) and ethanol injection method (EIM). The niosomes synthesized were used to prepare two different materials: (i) a powder containing the lyophilized noisome with vanillin systems and (ii) a gelatin matrix film containing niosomes with vanillin. Lyophilization was carried out using maltodextrin as a cryoprotectant. The lyophilization of colloidal structures allows for storage at room temperature for long periods of time, keeping their organoleptic characteristics invariable. Niosomes were characterized before and after the lyophilization process in terms of morphological characterization, size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential. Moreover, niosomes cargo was evaluated by calculating the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC). Results showed that the use of the TFH method allowed us to obtain niosomes of 255 nm with high EE (up to 40%) and LC values higher than EIM. The lyophilization process decreased the LC of the vesicles prepared, but this decrease was mitigated by up to 20% when ionic surfactants were used on the membrane bilayer. Gelatin films are biodegradable materials suitable for food packing applications. The incorporation of a natural compound with antimicrobial activity would be a clear advantage for such an application. The films prepared were characterized in terms of morphology, water solubility, color, and transparency. Niosomes synthesized by thin film hydration had better chemical and physical properties to load vanillin. Especially in the case of application in films, niosomes with a negative charge, formed by SDS, and vanillin loaded gave better mechanical and chemical characteristics to the film.

Odor Discrimination by Lipid Membranes

“…Like odorants, many drugs tend to be lipophilic, and lipophilic drugs tend to be more potent than more polar drugs [ 66 ]. Furthermore, the lipid composition of lipid-based particles such as exosomes, liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, and other drug delivery vehicles is important for determining delivery properties, although in many cases the mechanism behind this remains unclear [ 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. If the lipid composition of a bilayer leads to molecular recognition in vivo then that may lead to a better understanding of targeting and signal transduction and lead to innovative drug targets.…”

Phage Lytic Protein CHAPSH3b Encapsulated in Niosomes and Gelatine Films

“…The synthesis of niosomes was carried out using the thin film hydration (TFH) method [ 16 ], with some modifications. The synthesis involved dissolving the vesicle membrane components (total membrane compounds: 0.25 g, with a mass ratio 1:1:0.5 of Span 60, CTAB, and cholesterol) in an organic phase (10 mL of ethanol).…”

“…The size and zeta potential of the niosomes were measured using dynamic light scattering (DLS) on a Zetasizer NanoZS series (Malvern Instruments Ltd., Malvern, UK), taking non-diluted aliquots of 100 µL for size determination and 2 mL for zeta potential determination. Both measurements were made at 25 °C [ 16 , 25 ].…”

“…In this study, niosomes were formulated using the surfactant Span 60 and Cholesterol, both recognized for their suitability in encapsulating various compounds [ 11 ]. Additionally, the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was incorporated to enhance the positive charge of the niosome membrane and to leverage its known antimicrobial activity [ 16 ].…”