Gemcitabine­fucoxanthin combination in human pancreatic cancer cells.

Gemcitabine is a chemotherapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer treatment. It has also been demonstrated to inhibit human pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1. The aim of the present study was to investigate the suppressive effect of fucoxanthin, a marine carotenoid, in combination with gemcitabine on pancreatic cancer cells. MTT assays and cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry were performed to study the mechanism of action. The results revealed that combining a low dose of fucoxanthin with gemcitabine enhanced the cell viability of human embryonic kidney cells, 293, while a high dose of fucoxanthin enhanced the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine on the cell viability of this cell line. In addition, the enhanced effect of fucoxanthin on the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine on PANC-1 cells was significant (P<0.01). Fucoxanthin combined with gemcitabine also exerted significant enhancement of the anti-proliferation effect in MIA PaCa-2 cells in a concentration dependent manner (P<0.05), compared with gemcitabine treatment alone. In conclusion, fucoxanthin improved the cytotoxicity of gemcitabine on human pancreatic cancer cells at concentrations that were not cytotoxic to non-cancer cells. Thus, fucoxanthin has the potential to be used as an adjunct in pancreatic cancer treatment.

Structure modification of montmorillonite nanoclay by surface coating with soy protein.

To achieve exfoliated and/or intercalated structures, montmorillonite (MMT) was surface-coated by soy protein at 60 °C, at MMT/soy protein powder mass ratios of 49:1, 9:1, 4:1, and 2:1 and pH 2.0-10.0. The protein-coated MMT was triple-washed and lyophilized for characterization. Protein coating was observed at all pH conditions, based on data from X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, and quantification of protein remaining in the continuous phase and present in the triple-washed MMT. At a mass ratio of 4:1, >90% protein bound with MMT, with the largest d-spacing at pH 9.0. When the mass ratio was increased to 2:1, protein-coated MMT at pH 9.0 demonstrated the highest degree of intercalation/exfoliation, corresponding to disappearance of the diffraction peak characteristic of pristine MMT. This study thus demonstrated that intercalation/exfoliation of MMT can be easily achieved by coating with low-cost soy protein for manufacturing nanocomposite materials.

Nanoscalar structures of spray-dried zein microcapsules and in vitro release kinetics of the encapsulated lysozyme as affected by formulations.

Sustained release of antimicrobials may be a viable solution to enhance the bioavailability during the shelf life of food products. In this work, spray-drying was used to encapsulate a model antimicrobial of lysozyme in corn zein. The effects of zein/lysozyme (20:1 to 4:1) and zein/thymol (1:0 to 4:1) ratios on the microstructures of microcapsules and in vitro release profiles of the encapsulated lysozyme were investigated. In all cases, less lysozyme was released at higher pH, resulting from stronger molecular attraction between zein and lysozyme. Nanoscalar matrix structures of microcapsules were correlated with release characteristics of the encapsulated lysozyme. At intermediate zein/lysozyme (10:1) and zein/thymol (50:1) ratios, microcapsules had a continuous matrix structure and showed sustained release (11.1-65.3%) of lysozyme at pH 6 over 49 days. This work may be developed into practical food grade delivery systems of antimicrobials.