PEG-PLGA from PolySciTech used in research on protein absorption effect on nanoparticle transport

 

In physiologic conditions, nanoparticles naturally absorb biomolecules (proteins) onto their surface which affects their interactions with cells. The exact nature of the role this protein absorption plays is not fully understood. Researchers at University of Antioquia (Colombia), Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany) used mPEG-PLGA (PolyVivo cat# AK037) and PLGA-PEG-COOH (PolyVivo cat# AI078) from PolySciTech division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to generate PEGylated and functionalized nanoparticles. These were used to investigate the transport behavior of antifungal agent and the interaction of these particles with macrophages. This research holds promise to improve therapeutic delivery techniques in the future. Read More: Mejía, Susana P., Richard da Costa Marques, Katharina Landfester, Jahir Orozco, and Volker Mailänder. "Effect of Protein Corona on The Specificity and Efficacy of Nanobioconjugates to Treat Intracellular Infections." Macromolecular Bioscience (2023): 2300197. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mabi.202300197

“Encapsulating drugs into functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) is an alternative to reach the specific therapeutic target with lower doses. However, when the NPs are in contact with physiological media, proteins adsorb on their surfaces, forming a protein corona (PC) biomolecular layer, acquiring a distinct biological identity that alters their interactions with cells. Itraconazole (ITZ), an antifungal agent, is encapsulated into PEGylated and/or functionalized NPs with high specificity for macrophages. It is evaluated how the PC impacts their cell uptake and antifungal effect. The minimum inhibitory concentration and colony-forming unit assays demonstrate that encapsulated ITZ into poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) NPs improves the antifungal effect compared with NPs lacking PEGylation. The improvement can be related to the synergistic effect of the encapsulated ITZ and NPs composition and the reduction of PC formation in PEG NPs. Functionalized NPs with anti-F4/80 and anti-MARCO antibodies, or mannose without PEG and treated with PC, show an improved uptake but, in the presence of PEG, significantly reduce the endocytosis, dominating the stealth effect from PEG. Therefore, the PC plays a crucial role in the nanosystem uptake and antifungal effects, which suggests the need for in vivo model studies to evaluate the effect of PC in the specificity and biodistribution.”