1.
Bramer, Tobias, et al.
(författare)
Implications of regular solution theory on the release mechanism of catanionic mixtures from gels
2009
Ingår i: Colloids and Surfaces B. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-7765 .- 1873-4367. ; 71:2, s. 214-225
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
The aim of this study was to apply the regular solution theory of mixed micelles to gain new insights on the drug release mechanism, when using catanionic mixtures as a method of obtaining prolonged release from gels. Synergistic effects were investigated at equilibrium and quantified in terms of regular solution theory interaction parameters. The drug release from catanionic aggregates was studied both in a polymer free environment, using dialysis membranes, and in gels, using a modified LISP paddle method. The drug release kinetics was modelled theoretically by combining the regular solution theory with Fick's diffusion laws assuming a contribution to the transport only from monomeric species (stationary aggregates). The theoretical predictions were found to be in reasonably good agreement with experiments. An analysis of the calculated distribution of species between aggregated and monomeric states was shown to provide further insights into the release mechanism.
2.
Bysell, Helena, 1978-
(författare)
Interaction Between Microgels and Oppositely Charged Peptides
2009
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Lightly cross-linked polyelectrolyte microgels are materials with interesting properties for a range of applications. For instance, the volume of these particles can be drastically changed in response to pH, ionic strength, temperature, or the concentration of specific ions and metabolites. In addition, microgel particles can bind substantial amounts of oppositely charged substances, such as proteins and peptides, and release them upon changes in the external environment. Consequently, microgels have potential in catalysis, photonics, biomaterials, and not at least, as protective and stimuli-sensitive carriers for protein and peptide drugs. In this thesis, the interaction between anionic microgels and cationic peptides was investigated by monitoring microgel deswelling and reswelling in response to peptide binding and release using micromanipulator-assisted light microscopy. In addition, peptide distribution in microgels was analyzed with confocal laser scanning microscopy and peptide uptake determined with solution depletion measurements. The aim of the thesis was to clarify how parameters such as peptide size, charge density, pH, ionic strength and hydrophobicity influences the peptide binding to, distribution in and release from, polyelectrolyte microgels. Results obtained in this thesis show that electrostatic attraction is a prerequisite for interaction to occur although non-electrostatic contributions are responsible the finer details of the interactions. The size and charge density of the interacting peptides play a major role, as large and highly charged peptides are restricted to enter and interact with the microgel core, thus displaying a surface-confined distribution. The peptide-microgel interaction strength is highly reflected in the probability of peptides to be detached from the gel network. For instance, reducing the electrostatic interactions by adding salt induces significant peptide release of sufficiently small and moderately charged peptides, whereas longer and more highly charged peptides is retained in the microgel network due to the strong interaction, insufficient salt screening, and gel network pore size restriction. Decreasing the charge density of microgel network and/or peptides increases the probability for peptide detachment tremendously. To summarize, interactions occurring in oppositely charged microgel-peptide systems can be tuned by varying parameters such as charge density and peptide size and through this, the peptide uptake, distribution and release can be controlled to alter the performance of microgels in peptide drug delivery.
3.
Hansson, Per
(författare)
Surfactant self-assembly in oppositely charged polymer networks. Theory
2009
Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 113:39, s. 12903-12915
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
The interaction of ionic surfactants with polyion networks of opposite charge in an aqueous environment is analyzed theoretically by applying a recent theory of surfactant ion-polyion complex salts (J. Colloid. Int. Sci. 2009, 332, 183). The theory takes into account attractive and repulsive polyion-mediated interactions between the micelles, the deformation of the polymer network, the mixing of micelles, polyion chains, and simple ions with water, and the hydrophobic free energy at the micelle surface. The theory is used to calculate binding isotherms, swelling isotherms, surfactant aggregation numbers, compositions of complexes,and phase structure under various conditions. Factors controlling the gel volume transition and conditions for core/shell phase coexistence are investigated in detail, as well as the influence of salt. In particular, the interplay between electrostatic and elastic interactions is highlighted. Results from theory are compared with experimental data reported in the literature. The agreement is found to be semiquantitative or qualitative. The theory explains both the discrete volume transition observed in systems where the surfactant is in excess over the polyion and the core/shell phase coexistence in systems where the polyion is in excess.
4.
Ringstad, Lovisa
(författare)
Interaction Between Antimicrobial Peptides and Phospholipid Membranes : Effects of Peptide Length and Composition
2009
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Due to increasing problems with bacterial resistance development, there is a growing need for identifying new types of antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides constitute an interesting group of substances for this purpose, since they are believed to act mainly by disrupting the bacterial membrane, which is a fast and non-specific mechanism. In order to understand the details on this action simplified phospholipid model membranes based on liposomes, monolayers and bilayers, were employed in this thesis. By in situ ellipsometry studies on supported lipid bilayers in combination with leakage from liposomes it was found that peptide-induced membrane rupture to a great extent is related to peptide adsorption. The peptide activity and mechanism of action is highly dependent on peptide properties such as length, topology, charge, and hydrophobicity. Electrostatic interactions are crucial for peptide adsorption, whereas α-helix formation is of less importance, demonstrated by the dominating peptide conformation being random coil both in absence and presence of membranes, as investigated by circular dichroism. Comparable effects were observed in both mono- and bilayer systems, showing that formation of transmembrane structures is no prerequisite for membrane rupture by complement-derived peptides. Electrochemical studies on these peptides further demonstrated that hydrophobic interactions facilitate peptide penetration into the membrane, causing defects in close proximity to the peptides, while strong electrostatic interactions arrest the peptide in the headgroup region. Increasing the peptide hydrophobicity, by e.g., tryptophan end-tagging, also increases salt resistance. Good correlations were found between model membrane investigations and antibacterial activity towards both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, showing that membrane rupture is a key mechanism of action for the peptides investigated. In addition, for all peptides investigated cell toxicity is low.
