Fabrication and characterization of Agarwood extract-loaded nanocapsules and evaluation of their toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity on RAW 264.7 cells and in zebrafish embryos.

Aquilaria malaccensis has been traditionally used to treat several medical disorders including inflammation. However, the traditional claims of this plant as an anti-inflammatory agent has not been substantially evaluated using modern scientific techniques. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of Aquilaria malacensis leaf extract (ALEX-M) and potentiate its activity through nano-encapsulation. The extract-loaded nanocapsules were fabricated using water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsion method and characterized via multiple techniques including DLS, TEM, FTIR, and TGA. The toxicity and the anti-inflammatory activity of ALEX-M and the extract-loaded nanocapsules (ALEX-M-PNCs) were evaluated in-vitro on RAW 264.7 macrophages and in-vivo on zebrafish embryos. The nanocapsules demonstrated spherical shape with mean particle diameter of 167.13 ± 1.24 nm, narrow size distribution (PDI = 0.29 ± 0.01), and high encapsulation efficiency (87.36 ± 1.81%). ALEX-M demonstrated high viability at high concentrations in RAW 264.7 cells and zebrafish embryos, however, ALEX-M-PNCs showed relatively higher cytotoxicity. Both free and nanoencapsulated extract expressed anti-inflammatory effects through significant reduction of the pro-inflammatory mediator nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages and zebrafish embryos in a concentration-dependent manner. The findings highlight that ALEX-M can be recognized as a potential anti-inflammatory agent, and its anti-inflammatory activity can be potentiated by nano-encapsulation. Further studies are warranted toward investigation of the mechanistic and immunomodulatory roles of ALEX-M.

Small-sized and large-pore dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles enhance antimicrobial enzyme delivery.

The abuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and high threats to human health. The search for safe and effective alternatives to traditional antibiotics is growing worldwide. In this article, we report the synthesis of large pore dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) with controllable particle sizes and investigate the relationship between the particle size of DMSNs and their antibacterial enzyme delivery performance. The choice of dual-functional perfluorocarbon anions with both low surface tension and interaction with cationic surfactants enables the synthesis of DMSNs with tunable particle size and pore size. After loading with lysozyme, a naturally occurring antimicrobial enzyme, DMSNs with a large pore size of 22.4 nm and a small particle size of 79 nm show significantly better antibacterial activity compared to either DMSNs with a larger particle size (160 nm) or MSNs with a smaller pore size (2.4 nm) while the other parameter is similar. The optimized DMSNs loaded with lysozyme exhibit total inhibition towards Escherichia coli (E. coli) throughout five days. Our study provides new insights into the controllable synthesis of nano-carriers for antimicrobial protein delivery applications.