Biological activity of liposomal vanillin.

This article presents a study of vanillin encapsulation inside multilamellar liposomes, with emphasis on the evaluation of antioxidant activity, the hemolytic effect, and the antisickling properties of these products. Egg phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol and egg phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol-1-O-decylglycerol liposomes were prepared by mechanical dispersion, all with vanillin included. Vesicles were characterized by determination of encapsulation efficiency and vanillin retention capacity. Antioxidant activity was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The hemolytic effect of liposomes was also evaluated by spectrophotometry, as well as the antisickling activity by the Huck test using optical microscopy. Results showed that the lipid composition of liposomes did not significantly affect the encapsulation efficiency. Stable vesicles were obtained with a high retention percentage of vanillin. Liposomes exhibited a high capture of the DPPH radical compared to free vanillin and 1-O-decylglycerol (C10) in solution. Vesicles caused no significant hemolisys in normal erythrocytes, nor in those coming from patients with sickle cell anemia. Vanillin encapsulated in liposomes retained its antisickling activity, with a greater effect for C10-containing vesicles. Our results show that vanillin encapsulation in liposomes is a way to enhance the pharmacologic properties of this molecule using a suitable vehicle.

Sickle cell disease painful crisis and steady state differentiation by proton magnetic resonance.

The delay time of the Hb S polymerization process was investigated in 63 patients with sickle cell disease during steady state and 10 during painful crisis starting from spin-spin proton magnetic resonance (PMR) time behavior measured at 36 degrees C and during spontaneous deoxygenation. We found a significant decrease of delay time as a result of the crisis (36 +/- 10%) and two well-differentiated ranges of values for each state: 273-354 min for steady state and 166-229 min for crisis with an uncertainty region of 15%. It is possible to use PMR as an objective and quantitative method in order to differentiate both clinical conditions of the sickle cell patient, but a more clear differentiation can be established comparing the delay time (td) value of one patient during crisis with his own td value during steady state.