| 1. |
- Badell, Maria Valldeperas, et al.
(författare)
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Lipid Sponge-Phase Nanoparticles as Carriers for Enzymes
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Cell Press. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 114:3, suppl 1, s. 15A-15A
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Immobilization of enzymes into different support materials has been widely studied as means to control their activity and stability. Here we will consider lipid liquid crystalline phases as enzyme carriers, as they have been demonstrated to have a high potential in a range of applications such as drug delivery, protein encapsulation or crystallization thanks to the wide range of self-assembly structures they can form, which have cavities of nano-scale dimensions. Furthermore, such structures have also been observed in a range of living organisms. Although, reverse cubic or hexagonal lipid aqueous phase can be used to entrap smaller biomolecules, it is still challenging to encapsulate bioactive macromolecules, such as proteins. Here, we will present a novel lipid system able to form highly swollen sponge phases (L3), with aqueous pores up to 13 nm of diameter. We will show that this structure is preserved even in excess aqueous solution, where they form sponge-like nanoparticles (L3 NPs) in which two enzymes of different sizes, Aspartic protease and beta-galactosidase (34 KDa and 460 KDa, respectively), could be included. To reveal the nature of the interaction between the enzymes and the lipid matrix, we studied the adsorption of both proteins on the lipid layers formed by the L3 NPs. The results will be discussed in terms of the ability of these nanoparticles to encapsulate and release of the proteins in the lipid matrix.
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| 2. |
- Björklund, Sebastian, et al.
(författare)
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Skin membrane electrical impedance properties under the influence of a varying water gradient
- 2013
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 104:12, s. 2639-2650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The stratum corneum (SC) is an effective permeability barrier. One strategy to increase drug delivery across skin is to increase the hydration. A detailed description of how hydration affects skin permeability requires characterization of both macroscopic and molecular properties and how they respond to hydration. We explore this issue by performing impedance experiments on excised skin membranes in the frequency range 1 Hz to 0.2 MHz under the influence of a varying gradient in water activity (aw). Hydration/dehydration induces reversible changes of membrane resistance and effective capacitance. On average, the membrane resistance is 14 times lower and the effective capacitance is 1.5 times higher when the outermost SC membrane is exposed to hydrating conditions (aw ¼ 0.992), as compared to the case of more dehydrating conditions (aw ¼ 0.826). Molecular insight into the hydration effects on the SC components is provided by natural-abundance 13C polarization transfer solidstate NMR and x-ray diffraction under similar hydration conditions. Hydration has a significant effect on the dynamics of the keratin filament terminals and increases the interchain spacing of the filaments. The SC lipids are organized into lamellar structures with ~ 12.6 nm spacing and hexagonal hydrocarbon chain packing with mainly all-trans configuration of the acyl chains, irrespective of hydration state. Subtle changes in the dynamics of the lipids due to mobilization and incorporation of cholesterol and long-chain lipid species into the fluid lipid fraction is suggested to occur upon hydration, which can explain the changes of the impedance response. The results presented here provide information that is useful in explaining the effect of hydration on skin permeability.
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| 3. |
- Slaninova, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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On the bioprotective effects of 3-hydroxybutyrate : Thermodynamic study of binary 3HB-water systems.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 122:3, s. 460-469
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microorganisms must face various inconvenient conditions; therefore, they developed several approaches for protection. Such a strategy also involves the accumulation of compatible solutes, also called osmolytes. It has been proved that the monomer unit 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), which is present in sufficient concentration in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)-accumulating cells, serves as a chemical chaperone protecting enzymes against heat and oxidative stress and as a cryoprotectant for enzymes, bacterial cells, and yeast. The stress robustness of the cells is also strongly dependent on the behavior and state of intracellular water, especially during stress exposure. For a better understanding of the protective mechanism and effect of strongly hydrophilic 3HB in solutions at a wide range of temperatures, a binary phase diagram of system sodium 3HB (Na3HB)-water in equilibrium and the state diagrams showing the glass transitions in the system were constructed. To investigate the activity of water in various compositions of the Na3HB/water system, three experimental techniques have been used (dynamic water sorption analysis, water activity measurements, and sorption calorimetry). First, Na3HB proved its hydrophilic nature, which is very comparable with known compatible solutes (trehalose). Results of differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated that Na3HB is also highly effective in depressing the freezing point and generating a large amount of nonfrozen water (1.35 g of water per gram of Na3HB). Therefore, Na3HB represents a very effective cryoprotectant that can be widely used for numerous applications.
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| 4. |
- Sparr, Emma, et al.
(författare)
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A Water Gradient can be used to Regulate Drug Transport across Skin - A Responding Membrane
- 2010
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Cell Press. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 98:3, suppl 1, s. 627a-627a
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- At normal conditions there is a substantial water gradient over the skin as it separates the water-rich inside of the body from the dry outside. This leads to a variation in the degree of hydration along the skin and changes in this gradient may affect the structure and function of skin. In this study we raise the question: How do changes in the water gradient across skin affect its permeability? We approach this problem in experiments that permit strict control of the gradient in the chemical potential of water. The results demonstrate that an external water gradient can be used to regulate transport of drugs across the skin. It is shown that the permeability of the skin barrier increases abruptly at low water gradients, corresponding to high degrees of skin hydration, and that this effect is reversible. This phenomenon is highly relevant to drug delivery applications due to its potential of temporarily opening the skin barrier for transdermal delivery of drugs and subsequently closing the barrier after treatment. The results are explained on basis that the skin is a responding membrane, for which small changes in the environment can lead to major changes in membrane structure, which in turn affect its transport properties. We have in parallel theoretical modeling and experimental studies in model systems shown how a water gradient across multilayer lipid membrane can be used as a regulating mechanism to control the barrier properties. These principles are here applied to the barrier of stratum corneum, the upper layer of the human skin, where it can provide an explanation for the experimental findings that a water gradient can be used to regulate drug transport across the skin.
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| 5. |
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