engleski

Marine-Bioinspired Self-assembled Vesicles as Potential Drug Carriers

The development of drug carriers that mimic natural biological membranes is of great biotechnological interest. Since lipid-based, inorganic, and polymeric drug carriers do not approach the complexity of the natural membrane, numerous studies in the last decade have focused on the development of cell-based drug carriers.1, 2 Our research focuses on marine microalgae as important primary producers that form the basis of the aquatic food web. In addition to their ecological importance, algae are widely used as food, pharmacological agents, and energy sources, and yet their potential has not been adequately explored. Since it is a sustainable and environmentally friendly material, our interest lies in the development of drug carriers from microalgae. When soft microalgae are subjected to hypoosmotic shock, the cells burst, intracellular material is released, and the remaining membrane fragments self-assemble due to various non- covalent interactions to form spontaneously reconstructed membrane vesicles.3 This presentation will provide insight into the morphology, properties, composition, and ability of the vesicles to encapsulate a model drug. This unique membrane system could open a new avenue for the use of marine-bioinspired materials to develop a new generation of supramolecular self-assembled drug delivery systems, thus connecting the ocean to human health. Acknowledgments This work is supported by the Croatian Science Foundation Project ‘‘From algal cell surface properties to stress markers for aquatic ecosystems” (IP-2018- 01-5840) and International Visegrad Grant “Research network VF-Croatia for the development of novel drug carriers from algae”(No. 22220115). References 1 A.D. Skinkle, K.R. Levental, I. Levental, Biophys. J., 2020, 118, 1292-1300. 2 I. K. Herrmann, M.J.A. Wood, G. Fuhrmann, Nat. Nanotechnol. 2021, 16, 748-759. 3 N. Ivošević DeNardis, G. Pletikapić, R. Frkanec, L. Horvat, P.T. Vernier, Bioelectrochemistry, 2020, 134, 107524.

drug carrier ; microalgae ; permeability ; self-assembled vesicles

nije evidentirano