NOX2 and NOX4 expression in monocytes and macrophages-extracellular vesicles in signalling and therapeutics.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a type of cytoplasmic vesicles secreted by a variety of cells. EVs originating from cells have been known to participate in cell communication, antigen presentation, immune cell activation, tolerance induction, etc. These EVs can also carry the active form of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Oxidase Hydrogen (NADPH) oxidase, which is very essential for the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and that can then modulate processes such as cell regeneration. The aim of this study is to characterize the EVs isolated from U-937 and THP-1 cells, identify the NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoforms, and to determine whether EVs can modulate NOX4 and NOX2 in monocytes and macrophages. In our study, isolated EVs of U-937 were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS) spectroscopy and immunoblotting. The results showed that the exogenous addition of differentiation agents (either phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or ascorbic acid) or the supplementation of EVs used in the study did not cause any stress leading to alterations in cell proliferation and viability. In cells co-cultured with EVs for 72 h, strong suppression of NOX4 and NOX2 is evident when monocytes transform into macrophagic cells. We also observed lower levels of oxidative stress measured using immunoblotting and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy under the EVs co-cultured condition, which also indicates that EVs might contribute significantly by acting as an antioxidant source, which agrees with previous studies that hypothesized the role of EVs in therapeutics. Therefore, our results provide evidence for NOX regulation by EVs in addition to its role as an antioxidant cargo.

Physiochemical Characterization of Lipidic Nanoformulations Encapsulating the Antifungal Drug Natamycin.

Natamycin is a tetraene polyene that exploits its antifungal properties by irreversibly binding components of fungal cell walls, blocking the growth of infections. However, topical ocular treatments with natamycin require frequent application due to the low ability of this molecule to permeate the ocular membrane. This limitation has limited the use of natamycin as an antimycotic drug, despite it being one of the most powerful known antimycotic agents. In this work, different lipidic nanoformulations consisting of transethosomes or lipid nanoparticles containing natamycin are proposed as carriers for optical topical administration. Size, stability and zeta potential were characterized via dynamic light scattering, the supramolecular structure was investigated via small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering and 1H-NMR, and the encapsulation efficiencies of the four proposed formulations were determined via HPLC-DAD.

Bioinspired Whisker Sensor for 3D Mapping of Underground Mining Environments.

Traversing through challenging, unstructured environments, particularly in mining scenarios characterized by dust concentration, darkness, and lack of communication presents formidable obstacles for traditional sensing technologies. Drawing inspiration from naked mole rats, characterized as being skilled subterranean navigators that depend heavily on touch to navigate their environment, this study introduces a new whisker-sensing disk designed for 3D mapping in unstructured environments. The disk comprises a circular array of 32 whisker sensors, each featuring a slender flexible plastic rod attached to a compliant base housing a 3D Hall-effect sensor. The whisker sensor is modeled using both analytical and data-driven approaches to predict rotation angles based on magnetic field measurements. The validation and comparison of both models are performed by evaluating data from other whisker sensors. Additionally, a series of experiments demonstrates the whisker disk's capability in performing 3D-mapping tasks, along with successful implementation on diverse robotic platforms, highlighting its future potential for effective 3D mapping in complex and unstructured subterranean environments.

Design and Kinematic Modeling of a Soft Continuum Telescopic Arm for the Self-Assembly Mechanism of a Modular Robot.

In recent years, the development of mining robots has grown significantly, offering improved efficiency and safety in hazardous environments. However, there is still room for improvement in adaptability, scalability, and overall performance. The ROBOMINERS project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, aims to facilitate Europe's access to mineral resources applying disruptive robotic concepts. One such concept is resilience, which can be achieved providing modular mining robots with the ability to reconfigure during operation. To address this challenge, this article presents the development and kinematic modeling of a soft, telescopic, continuum arm integrated into a modular robot. The arm serves as a mechanical interface for coupling different robotic modules or tools following the principle of the car crane. With a fully 3D-printed design, the arm features two sections of variable length that are driven by an innovative actuation method based on soft racks. It provides a 6 degrees of freedom (DoF) motion. The arm kinematic models are obtained by backbone parameterization assuming constant curvature and independent bending between sections for forward kinematics and applying a machine learning-based approach for inverse kinematics. The models are validated through the evaluation of two trajectories, measuring the deviation in each DoF and rack extension. Furthermore, a demonstration of the arm's coupling procedure between two robotic modules and one possible configuration of the robotic system showcases its functionality.

Green Hydrogels Loaded with Extracts from Solanaceae for the Controlled Disinfection of Agricultural Soils.

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development established the goal of cutting the use of pesticides in the EU by 50% by 2030. However, a ban on pesticides could seriously affect the productivity of agriculture, resulting in severe issues due to global hunger and food deficiency. Controlled release (CR) of bioactive chemicals could play a valid alternative in this context. To this aim, two biodegradable polymers, namely sodium alginate (AL) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), were employed to obtain crosslinked hydrogel beads for the encapsulation and CR of glycoalkaloids extracted from tomato and potato leaves to be used as biocompatible disinfectants for agricultural soils. The physico-chemical characterization of the controlled-release systems was carried out by means of Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) (FWI > 80%) and drying kinetics. The plant extracts and the encapsulation efficiency (~84%) were, respectively, characterized and evaluated by High-performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Finally, preliminary microbiological tests were conducted to test the efficacy of the most promising systems as biocidal formulations both in the lab and on a model soil, and interesting results were obtained in the reduction of bacterial and fungal load, which could lead to sustainable perspectives in the field.

Topological Navigation for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in Confined Semi-Structured Environments.

In this work, we present the design, implementation, and simulation of a topology-based navigation system for the UX-series robots, a spherical underwater vehicle designed to explore and map flooded underground mines. The objective of the robot is to navigate autonomously in the 3D network of tunnels of a semi-structured but unknown environment in order to gather geoscientific data. We start from the assumption that a topological map has been generated by a low-level perception and SLAM module in the form of a labeled graph. However, the map is subject to uncertainties and reconstruction errors that the navigation system must address. First, a distance metric is defined to compute node-matching operations. This metric is then used to enable the robot to find its position on the map and navigate it. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach, extensive simulations have been carried out with different randomly generated topologies and various noise rates.

Soft dorsal/anal fins pairs for roll and yaw motion in robotic fish.

Fish has primarily served as a model for many bio-inspired underwater robots. However, most of the work on fish-inspired robots is focused on propulsion and turning in the horizontal plane. In this paper, we present our work on the 3D motion of bio-inspired underwater robots. A pair of actuated soft fins, mimicking the soft dorsal and anal fins of a live fish, have been designed and tested to generate lateral thrusts that aim to produce both roll and yaw motions. Furthermore, they can be used to provide vertical stabilization of the forward motion in the robot. These fins comprise shape memory alloy wires embedded in silicone. We demonstrate that these fins can provide a means for 3D maneuvering. In this work, we focus on roll and yaw motions. A key feature of the proposed design is that it is lightweight, compact, and waterproof.

Confiabilidade diagnóstica e linguagem / Diagnostic reliability and language / Fiabilité diagnostique et langage / Fiabilidad diagnóstica y lenguaje

Neste artigo defendemos que a busca operacional-pragmática de uma maior confiabilidade diagnóstica deve levar em conta o papel que a linguagem desempenha na conceituação psicopatológica. Concluímos que, na conceituação dos sintomas psicopatológicos, a ênfase deve se deslocar das vivências para o relato sobre elas. Isso exige considerar de maneira explícita uma semântica, ou seja, uma teoria da significação, apenas pressuposta. Além disso, mostramos que essa mudança de ênfase tem implicações na concepção que se tem da natureza do sintoma psicopatológico. Concluímos também que a estipulação de critérios de suficiência para o diagnóstico psicopatológico favorece um aumento da confiabilidade à custa da consideração clínica dos casos limítrofes, estreitando formalmente a visada clínica da psicopatologia a partir do operacionalismo pragmático.

This article argues that the operational-pragmatic search for greater diagnostic reliability must consider the role played by language in psychopathological conceptualization. When conceptualizing psychopathological symptoms, the emphasis must shift from experience to reporting, which requires explicitly considering a semantics - that is, a theory of meaning - only presupposed. This shift in emphasis influences our understanding of the nature of the psychopathological symptom. In conclusion, stipulating sufficiency criteria for psychopathological diagnosis favors an increase in reliability in detriment of the clinical consideration of borderline cases, formally narrowing the clinical approach to psychopathology based on pragmatic operationalism.

Cet article soutien que la recherche pragmatique-opérationnelle d'une plus grande fiabilité diagnostique doit tenir compte du rôle joué par le langage dans la conceptualisation psychopathologique. Lors de la conceptualisation des symptômes psychopathologiques, l'accent doit être déplacé de l'expérience vers le rapport, ce qui nécessite de considérer explicitement une sémantique, c'est-à-dire une théorie du sens, juste présupposée. Ce changement d'accent influence notre compréhension de la nature du symptôme psychopathologique. En conclusion, la stipulation de critères de suffisance pour le diagnostic psychopathologique favorise une augmentation de la fiabilité au détriment de la considération clinique des cas limites, rétrécissant formellement l'approche clinique de la psychopathologie basée sur l'opérationnalisme pragmatique.

En este artículo argumentamos que la búsqueda pragmática operativa de una mayor fiabilidad diagnóstica debe tener en cuenta el papel que desempeña el lenguaje en la conceptualización psicopatológica. En la conceptualización de los síntomas psicopatológicos, se debe pasar el enfoque de las experiencias al de informar sobre ellas. Esto requiere considerar explícitamente una semántica, es decir, una teoría del significado, solo presupuesta. Además, mostramos que este cambio de enfoque tiene implicaciones en la comprensión de la naturaleza del síntoma psicopatológico. También concluimos que el establecimiento de criterios de suficiencia en el diagnóstico psicopatológico favorece un aumento de la fiabilidad en la observación clínica de los casos límite, que estrecha formalmente el abordaje clínico de la psicopatología desde el operacionalismo pragmático.

Structuring and De-Structuring of Nanovectors from Algal Lipids: Simulated Digestion, Preliminary Antioxidant Capacity and In Vitro Tests.

Biocompatible nanocarriers can be obtained by lipid extraction from natural sources such as algal biomasses, which accumulate different lipid classes depending on the employed culture media. Lipid aggregates can be distinguished according to supramolecular architecture into lamellar and nonlamellar structures. This distinction is mainly influenced by the lipid class and molecular packing parameter, which determine the possible values of interfacial curvature and thus the supramolecular symmetries that can be obtained. The nanosystems prepared from bio-sources are able to self-assemble into different compartmentalized structures due to their complex composition. They also present the advantage of increased carrier-target biocompatibility and are suitable to encapsulate and vehiculate poorly water-soluble compounds, e.g., natural antioxidants. Their functional properties stem from the interplay of several parameters. Following previous work, here the functionality of two series of structurally distinct lipid nanocarriers, namely liposomes and cubosomes deriving from algal biomasses with different lipid composition, is characterized. In the view of their possible use as pharmaceutical or nutraceutical formulations, both types of nanovectors were loaded with three well-known antioxidants, i.e., curcumin, α-tocopherol and piperine, and their carrier efficacy was compared considering their different structures. Firstly, carrier stability in biorelevant conditions was assessed by simulating a gastrointestinal tract model. Then, by using an integrated chemical and pharmacological approach, the functionality in terms of encapsulation efficiency, cargo bioaccessibility and kinetics of antioxidant capacity by UV-Visible spectroscopy was evaluated. Subsequently, in vitro cytotoxicity and viability tests after administration to model cell lines were performed. As a consequence of this investigation, it is possible to conclude that nanovectors from algal lipids, i.e., cubosomes and liposomes, can be efficient delivery agents for lipophilic antioxidants, being able to preserve and enhance their activity toward different targets while promoting sustained release.

Characterization of Extracts of Coffee Leaves (Coffea arabica L.) by Spectroscopic and Chromatographic/Spectrometric Techniques.

Coffea arabica L. leaves represent a viable alternative to the canonical matrices used for preparation of beverages, such as tea leaves and grounded coffee beans. Coffee leaves infusions are rich in antioxidant phenolic compounds and have a lower concentration of caffeine. Due to increasing interest in this field, a complete study of the bioactive compounds as chlorogenic acids, xanthones and alkaloids is noteworthy. C. arabica leaves were subjected to ultrasound-assisted extraction, and the extracts were studied via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and chromatographic techniques coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MSn) to identify and quantify the secondary metabolites profile through an untargeted data dependent approach. A quantitative analysis was performed for the major components-chlorogenic acids, mangiferin, caffeine and trigonelline-via HPLC-MS in Single Ion Monitoring (SIM) mode. In total, 39 compounds were identified. The presence of these bioactive compounds proved the strong potential of C. arabica leaves as functional food and as an alternative to classic infused beverages.

Bioactive Compounds and Their Impact on Protein Modification in Human Cells.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) represent a group of molecules with a signaling role that are involved in regulating human cell proliferation and differentiation. Increased ROS concentrations are often associated with the local nonspecific oxidation of biological macromolecules, especially proteins and lipids. Free radicals, in general, may randomly damage protein molecules through the formation of protein-centered radicals as intermediates that, in turn, decay into several end oxidation products. Malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of free-radical-mediated lipid oxidation and cell membrane damage, forms adducts with proteins in a nonspecific manner, leading to the loss of their function. In our study, we utilized U-937 cells as a model system to unveil the effect of four selected bioactive compounds (chlorogenic acid, oleuropein, tomatine, and tyrosol) to reduce oxidative stress associated with adduct formation in differentiating cells. The purity of the compounds under study was confirmed by an HPLC analysis. The cellular integrity and changes in the morphology of differentiated U-937 cells were confirmed with confocal microscopy, and no significant toxicity was found in the presence of bioactive compounds. From the Western blot analysis, a reduction in the MDA adduct formation was observed in cells treated with compounds that underlaid the beneficial effects of the compounds tested.

Effect of Flaking and Precooking Procedures on Antioxidant Potential of Selected Ancient Cereal and Legume Flours.

Consumption of cereals (and particularly ancient cereals) is considered the base of a healthy diet, and all current dietary guidelines have cereals at the bottom of the nutrition pyramid. Together with cereals, legumes are an excellent source of nutrients and nutraceuticals. The effects of agroindustrial pretreatments (flaking and precooking processes) on the antioxidant potential of flours from ancient cereals and legumes were studied. The extraction of free hydrophilic phenolic compounds was carried out in a hydroalcoholic solvent mixture via an ultrasound-assisted process. Furthermore, the solid residue was successively hydrolyzed by an alkaline solution to extract the bound phenolic fraction. Both free and bound extracted fractions were then quantitatively characterized for total polyphenolic and flavonoid contents, and the antioxidant potential was determined by carrying out the ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays, expressing the results (in both cases) as the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC/ABTS and TEAC/DPPH, respectively). The samples were also extracted in organic apolar solvents (acetone or water-saturated iso-butanol) to quantitatively characterize lipophilic antioxidant compounds and pigments. A discussion on the comparison of these analytical parameters of flours obtained from raw, flaked, and precooked cereals and legumes is reported revealing that (i) phenolic compounds are mainly present in the post-hydrolysis extract (bound fraction), (ii) the precooking process significantly reduced the concentration of antioxidants, (iii) the flaking process slightly increased the phenolic content, (iv) legumes were less influenced by pretreatments, suggesting the possibility of using legumes to enrich cereal foods.

The reproductive potential of uterus transplantation: future prospects.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI) is a form of infertility whereby conception and/or maintenance of pregnancy is impossible as a result of uterine absence or its completed dysfunction. It affects 1/500 women of reproductive age while the incidence is about 8% of infertile couples. Uterus transplantation (UTx) has been gaining ground as a viable option to enable women with AUFI to have biological children and as an alternative to surrogacy, a highly controversial practice still banned in many countries. METHODS: The authors have set out to strike a reasonable balance between UTx benefits and the still numerous risks, whether clinical or ethical, associated with such an innovative form of transplant, which is not life-saving, requires immunosuppression throughout pregnancy and the organ to be removed right after childbirth. RESULTS: While still far from achieving mainstream status, considerable strides have been made in UTx outcomes, with many live births already recorded. Procedures from living donor are reportedly more effective in terms of success rates. Organ tissue engineering has been explored and developed with promising results. CONCLUSIONS: UTx entails various risks and ethical quandaries which have to do with reproductive autonomy and rights. New human attempts and clinical trials of UTx should be performed to further optimize the procedure in relation to safety and effectiveness. Techniques such as tissue engineering could lead in the medium-long term to a wholly bioengineered uterus to be used for transplantation, relying on scaffolds from decellularized organs or tissues that can be recellularized by several types of autologous somatic/stem cells. Such advances hold promise in terms of solving UTx-related complications and organ supply difficulties.

Nonlinear Control Strategies for an Autonomous Wing-In-Ground-Effect Vehicle.

Autonomous vehicles are nowadays one of the most important technologies that will be incorporated to every day life in the next few years. One of the most promising kind of vehicles in terms of efficiency and sustainability are those known as Wing-in-Ground crafts, or WIG crafts, a family of vehicles that seize the proximity of ground to achieve a flight with low drag and high lift. However, this kind of crafts lacks of a sound theory of flight that can lead to robust control solutions that guarantees safe autonomous operation in all the cruising phases.In this paper we address the problem of controlling a WIG craft in different scenarios and using different control strategies in order to compare their performance. The tested scenarios include obstacle avoidance by fly over and recovering from a random disturbance in vehicle attitude. MPC (Model Predictive Control) is tested on the complete nonlinear model, while PID, used as baseline controller, LQR (Linear Quadratic Regulator) and adaptive LQR are tested on top of a partial feedback linearization. Results show that LQR has got the best overall performance, although it is seen that different design specifications could lead to the selection of one controller or another.

Varietal and Geographical Origin Characterization of Peaches and Nectarines by Combining Analytical Techniques and Statistical Approach.

Prunus persica L. is one of the most important fruit crops in European production, after grapes, apples, oranges and watermelons. Most varieties are rich in secondary metabolites, showing antioxidant properties for human health. The purpose of this study was to develop a chemical analysis methodology, which involves the use of different analytical-instrumental techniques to deepen the knowledge related to the profile of metabolites present in selected cultivars of peaches and nectarines cultivated in the Mediterranean area (Southern Italy). The comparative study was conducted by choosing yellow-fleshed peaches (RomeStar, ZeeLady) and yellow-fleshed nectarines (Nectaross, Venus) from two geographical areas (Piana di Sibari and Piana di Metaponto), and by determining the chemical parameters for the flesh and skin that allow for identification of any distinctive varietal and/or geographical characteristics. A combined analytical and chemometric approach was used, trough rheological, thermogravimetric (TGA), chromatographic (HPLC-ESI-MS), spectroscopic (UV-Vis, ATR-FTIR, NMR) and spectrometric (ToF-SIMS) analysis. This approach allowed us to identify the characterizing parameters for the analysis of a plant matrix so that the developed methodology could define an easily exportable and extendable model for the characterization of other types of vegetable matrices.

Combined Experimental and Multivariate Model Approaches for Glycoalkaloid Quantification in Tomatoes.

The intake of tomato glycoalkaloids can exert beneficial effects on human health. For this reason, methods for a rapid quantification of these compounds are required. Most of the methods for α-tomatine and dehydrotomatine quantification are based on chromatographic techniques. However, these techniques require complex and time-consuming sample pre-treatments. In this work, HPLC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS was used as reference method. Subsequently, multiple linear regression (MLR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) were employed to create two calibration models for the prediction of the tomatine content from thermogravimetric (TGA) and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) infrared spectroscopy (IR) analyses. These two fast techniques were proven to be suitable and effective in alkaloid quantification (R2 = 0.998 and 0.840, respectively), achieving low errors (0.11 and 0.27%, respectively) with the reference technique.

Kinetics of glucosinolate hydrolysis by myrosinase in Brassicaceae tissues: A high-performance liquid chromatography approach.

Glucosinolates are a group of secondary metabolites occurring in all the vegetables belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Upon tissue damage, glucosinolates are hydrolyzed by myrosinase to a series of degradation products, including isothiocyanates, which are important for their health-promoting effects in humans. The glucosinolate-myrosinase system has been characterized in several Brassica species, of which white mustard (Sinapis alba) has been studied the most. In this study, a new HPLC-UV assay to evaluate the activities and kinetics of myrosinases in aqueous extracts, which closely represent the physiological conditions of plant tissues, was developed. This method was tested on myrosinases extracted from broccoli and cauliflower inflorescences, employing sinigrin and glucoraphanin as substrates. The results showed a strong inhibition of both enzymes at high substrate concentrations. The main issues related to kinetic analysis on the glucosinolate-myrosinase system were also elucidated.

Functional Self-Awareness and Metacontrol for Underwater Robot Autonomy.

Autonomous systems are expected to maintain a dependable operation without human intervention. They are intended to fulfill the mission for which they were deployed, properly handling the disturbances that may affect them. Underwater robots, such as the UX-1 mine explorer developed in the UNEXMIN project, are paradigmatic examples of this need. Underwater robots are affected by both external and internal disturbances that hamper their capability for autonomous operation. Long-term autonomy requires not only the capability of perceiving and properly acting in open environments but also a sufficient degree of robustness and resilience so as to maintain and recover the operational functionality of the system when disturbed by unexpected events. In this article, we analyze the operational conditions for autonomous underwater robots with a special emphasis on the UX-1 miner explorer. We then describe a knowledge-based self-awareness and metacontrol subsystem that enables the autonomous reconfiguration of the robot subsystems to keep mission-oriented capability. This resilience augmenting solution is based on the deep modeling of the functional architecture of the autonomous robot in combination with ontological reasoning to allow self-diagnosis and reconfiguration during operation. This mechanism can transparently use robot functional redundancy to ensure mission satisfaction, even in the presence of faults.

Effects of Aqueous Extract of Lycopersicum esculentum L. var. "Camone" Tomato on Blood Pressure, Behavior and Brain Susceptibility to Oxidative Stress in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Behavioral disorders affect millions of people worldwide. Hypertension contributes to both the development and progression of brain damage and cognitive dysfunction and could represent the most powerful modifiable risk factor for cerebral vessel dysfunction and consequent behavioral impairment. Tomato contains antioxidants and bioactive molecules that might play an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular and brain diseases. The effects of the combined gel and serum from Lycopersicum esculentum L. var. "Camone" tomatoes and those of purified tomato glycoalkaloids (tomatine) and an antihypertensive drug (captopril) were investigated in male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and compared with normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Body weight, systolic blood pressure, behavioral parameters, as well as brain susceptibility to oxidative stress and brain cytokine contents, were assessed. Treating hypertensive rats with tomato gel/serum or captopril for four weeks caused a significant reduction in blood pressure, decreased locomotor activity and increased grooming behavior; the last two parameters were also significantly affected by tomatine treatment. Brain slices obtained from hypertensive rats treated with tomato gel/serum were more resistant to oxidative stress and contained lower levels of inflammatory cytokines than vehicle-treated ones. In contrast, tomatine treatment had no effect. In conclusion, the tomato-derived gel/serum can be considered a dietary supplement able to drive in vivo blood pressure towards healthier values and also control some central effects such as behavior and brain oxidative stress.

Lipids from algal biomass provide new (nonlamellar) nanovectors with high carrier potentiality for natural antioxidants.

Lipid mesophases are lyotropic liquid crystalline systems which differ from liposomes and other globular aggregates in dilute regimes due to their inner ordering. It is known that natural lipids enable to obtain a rich variety of nanosystems and many of them have been proposed as delivery agents for bioactive compounds. Due to their packing parameters, several classes of lipids found in natural sources are able to self-assemble into nonlamellar structures. Among lipids occurring in plants and algae, triglycerides display this tendency. In the present study we examine new nanosystems built with lipids extracted from the marine microalga Nannochloropsis sp and their use as carriers for lipophilic antioxidants. The antioxidants studied, curcumin and tocopherol were encapsulated with high rate in the carriers. The physico-chemical characterization of plain and loaded vectors showed their structure and localization site, as well as the structure-functionality relationship related to potential drug delivery. The results show that the cargo molecules play an active role in driving the interactions which characterize the overall structure of the aggregates. The systems studied showed several coexisting mesophases, the most predominant structure being of cubic symmetry.