Encapsulation Of Molecules Research Articles

Incorporation of ESIPT into pillar[5]arene for solid-state dual emission responsive to n-hexane vapor

Abstract Pillar[5]arene is a promising macrocyclic receptor of a chemical sensor showing shape-selective encapsulation of neutral molecules into the cavity, but the poor fluorescence properties remain a challenge. Herein, we report a pillar[5]arene coupled with 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO), which displays bright fluorescence in both solution and the solid state. Owing to the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) in the HBO moiety, greatly improved fluorescence is observed for the pillar[5]arene derivative in CHCl3 (Φlum = 11%) and powder form (Φlum = 25%). Moreover, the emission color changes from light green to blue when the powder sample is exposed to n-hexane vapor. The color change derives from variable dual emission via ESIPT and excimer-forming pathways, as suggested by fluorescence lifetime measurements at different wavelengths. Powder x-ray diffraction indicates that increased crystallinity and a small alteration in the solid-state structure leads to visible fluorescent chromism upon vapor encapsulation.

Host-Guest Interactions Induced Enhancement in Oxidase-Like Activity of a Benzothiadiazole Dye Inside an Aqueous Pd8L4 Barrel.

The effect of host-guest interactions on the chemistry of encapsulated molecules is a fascinating field of research that has gained momentum in recent years. Much of the work in this field has been focused on the effect of such interactions on catalysis and photoluminescence of encapsulated dyes. However, the effect of such interactions on related photoinduced processes, such as photoregulated oxidase-mimicking activity, has not been explored much. Herein, we report a unique example of enhancement of oxidase-like activity of a benzothiadiazole dye (G1) in water through encapsulation within a M8L4 molecular barrel (1). Favorable host-guest interactions helped the encapsulated guest G1 to have better photoinduced electron transfer to molecular oxygen leading to increased production of superoxide radical anions and oxidase-like activity. Furthermore, encapsulation inside 1 also caused a change in the redox potentials of the guest (G1) which after photoinduced electron transfer produced a better oxidizing agent than free G1. These phenomena combined to enhance the oxidase-like activity of dye G1 upon encapsulation inside cage 1. The present report demonstrates a unique effect of host-guest chemistry on photoregulated processes.

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Algerian Propolis: GC/MS Profiling, Protective Inclusion Complex, and In Silico Evaluation Against SARS‐CoV‐2 Main Proteases

ABSTRACTPropolis, a bee product, is renowned globally for its diverse pharmacological activities attributed to its phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and terpenes. This study aims to identify the chemical compounds in Algerian raw propolis and evaluate the protective potential of its inclusion complex. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used for chemical characterization. Additionally, molecular docking against SARS‐COVID‐2 main proteases and ADMET profiling were conducted. The analysis revealed α‐pinene (25.29%–11.04%) and limonene (22.46%–12.88%) as the major components in raw propolis and its complex. DSC/TGA analysis demonstrated the protective effect of encapsulated molecules, with limonene and α‐pinene showing high activity against SARS‐COVID‐2 main proteases 7N5Z, 6LU7, and 7E6L, with docking scores of −5.71, −5.61, and −5.10 kcal/mol, respectively. This study highlights the potential of propolis constituents as drug candidates against the SARS‐COVID‐2 pandemic.

Pressure-driven formation of sub-femtoliter droplets in constricted T-shaped nanofluidic channel and application to isolation and counting of single nanoparticles

Nanofluidics has developed, enabling the analysis of single nanoparticles such as viruses and macromolecules using nanochannels. However, since nanoparticles migrate randomly by Brownian motion with displacements comparable to the nanochannel size, it is difficult to array and process nanoparticles individually in continuous phase flows with biological analyte concentrations of pM–nM. The present study developed a method to generate aqueous droplets of 102 aL–100 fL volumes in an organic phase in a nanochannel by pressure-driven flow control, and applied the method to the isolation of single nanoparticles with 101−102 pM concentrations. A T-shaped nanochannel with a narrow constriction section was proposed to locally enhance the shear force to form smaller droplets by 102 kPa external pressure, without increasing the pressure loss by downscaling the channel. The proposed channel design was validated, droplets with 0.8–1.0 fL volumes were formed with pL/min flow rates at Ca = 0.5–1.4 × 10−3, and the dynamics of droplet generation was well characterized by the linear scaling law. Using the developed device, encapsulation and counting of single fluorescent nanoparticles and single fluorescently-labeled DNA molecules in droplets were successfully demonstrated. This work will contribute to the development of droplet nanofluidics and ultrasmall analytical applications.

Incorporation of CuS nanorods in polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules improved cancer cell cytotoxicity and signal intensity in ultrasound imaging

The fabrications of hollow microcapsules (MCs) with new architecture and ability to incorporate different nanomaterials have received great interest for targeted cancer therapy. Recently, CuS based nanomaterials have been demonstrated to possess the ability to mimic Fenton-like activity in tumor environment and inducing cancer cell apoptosis by generating highly reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we have developed poly(allylamine) hydrochloride (PAH)/dextran sulfate (DS) polyelectrolyte MCs capable of carrying doxorubicin (DOX) for targeted cancer therapy and ultrasound imaging. The electron microscopy investigations showed the formation of polymeric MCs of 3 µm in size with incorporated CuS NRs in their interior structure. The surface modification of MCs with folic acid (FA), and encapsulation of model hydrophilic molecules in MCs was studied by UV–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The encapsulation efficiency of DOX was found to be 56 % and the release was found to be linear at pH 5.5 and 7.4 in the absence of ultrasound exposure. The ultrasound exposure resulted in sudden rupture of MCs at 1 MHz and 1 W/cm2 and caused burst release of DOX at both pH conditions. The FA decorated PAH/DS/CuS NR MCs exhibited improved anti-cancer activity against MDA-MB-231 cancer cells due to the synergistic effects of ultrasound mediated burst release of chemotherapeutic drug (DOX), glutathione-stimulated ROS and targeted cancer therapy. Further, the capsules showed better echogenicity than that of control PAH/DS MCs when imaged under medical ultrasound-scanning system. Hence, the MCs demonstrated in this study have huge potential for targeted cancer theranostics by offering an option to image the cancer cells during the treatment period.

Unveiling 5-fluorouracil anti-cancer drug encapsulation within pristine and silver-doped boron, aluminum, and gallium nitride nanotubes: A DFT investigation for advancing nanomedicine

Nanomaterials represent a promising frontier in drug delivery systems for combating cancer, offering precise targeting of tumour cells. This study delves into the encapsulation capabilities of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on pristine armchair (6,6) single-wall boron-, aluminium-, and gallium-nitride nanotubes (BNNT, AlNNT, GaNNT), both in their natural state and doped with silver (Ag) atoms under gas phase and water solution conditions. Employing density functional theory calculations at the M06-2X level, we scrutinise the geometric stabilities, encapsulation efficiencies, and electronic interactions between 5-FU molecules and NNTs. Our results reveal that a shorter distance between the drug and nanotube cavity enhances encapsulation ability and solubility while facilitating larger charge transfers, especially within Ag-doped NNTs. The Ag doping significantly augments the reactivity of NNTs towards 5-FU molecules, with thermodynamic analyses indicating exothermic and spontaneous interactions with Ag-doped NNTs. The decapsulation of 5-FU from Ag-BNNT, Ag-AlNNT, and Ag-GaNNT necessitates recovery time 6.42E+00, 3.21E+05, and 2.19E−04 s, with corresponding adsorption energies of −38.70, −49.52, and −28.42 kcal/mol, respectively. Electronic analyses demonstrate notable changes in states’ energy gap and density post-5-FU encapsulation in Ag-doped NNTs, suggesting enhanced sensitivity. Moreover, our investigation delves into topological features, molecular stability, bond strength, and intermolecular interactions using various analytical techniques, including MEPs, ELF maps, NBO, QTAIM, Hirshfeld surface, and RDG analyses. These comprehensive findings underscore the potential of Ag-doped NNTs as promising components for drug delivery systems and biosensors in nanomedicine applications, particularly in sensing and catalytic functions for 5-FU molecule encapsulation and detection.

Calix[2]azolium[2]benzimidazolone hosts for selective binding of neutral substrates in water

The separation and purification of chemical raw materials, particularly neutral compounds with similar physical and chemical properties, represents an ongoing challenge. In this study, we introduce a class of water-soluble macrocycle compound, calix[2]azolium[2]benzimidazolone (H), comprising two azolium and two benzimidazolone subunits. The heterocycle subunits form a hydrophobic binding pocket that enables H1 to encapsulate a series of neutral guests in water with 1:1 or 2:1 stoichiometry, including aldehydes, ketones, and nitrile compounds. The host-guest complexation in the solid state was further confirmed through X-ray crystallography. Remarkably, H1 was shown to be a nonporous adaptive crystal material to separate valeraldehyde from the mixture of valeraldehyde/2-methylbutanal/pentanol with high selectivity and recyclability in the solid states. This work not only demonstrates that azolium-based macrocycles are promising candidates for the encapsulation of organic molecules but also shows the potential application in separation science.

In Vitro Encapsulation of Functionally Active Abiotic Photosensitizers Inside a Bacterial Microcompartment Shell.

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are self-assembling, selectively permeable protein shells that encapsulate enzymes to enhance catalytic efficiency of segments of metabolic pathways through means of confinement. The modular nature of BMC shells' structure and assembly enables programming of shell permeability and underscores their promise in biotechnology engineering efforts for applications in industry, medicine, and clean energy. Realizing this potential requires methods for encapsulation of abiotic molecules, which have been developed here for the first time. We report in vitro cargo loading of BMC shells with ruthenium photosensitizers (RuPS) by two approaches─one involving site-specific covalent labeling and the other driven by diffusion, requiring no specific interactions between cargo molecules and shell proteins. The highly stable shells retain encapsulated cargo over 1 week without egress and preserve RuPS photophysical activity. This study is an important foundation for further work that will converge biological BMC architecture with synthetic chemistry to facilitate biohybrid photocatalysis.

Synthesis and evaluation of Maillard conjugates for encapsulation and controlled delivery of quercetin under simulated gastrointestinal tract conditions.

Encapsulation of bioactive molecules for therapeutic use is gaining great interest in the scientific community. Several encapsulation methodologies have been evaluated, sacrificing, in some cases, either encapsulation efficiency or compound integrity. Our work developed Maillard conjugates (MCs) based on the whey protein (WP)-Maltodextrin (MD) interaction to encapsulate quercetin by freeze-drying. The WP:MD ratio used (1:2 or 1:3) yielded the formation of MCs, demonstrated by an increased browning index and changes in the protein secondary structure. Freeze-drying showed high encapsulation efficiency, reaching 87.65% and 84.72% in treatments loaded with 3.3 mg quercetin/g MCs. Quercetin-loaded MCs showed spherical-shape (4-10 μm) and a negative charge, suggesting colloidal stability. Moreover, invitro tests demonstrated a sustained release of quercetin throughout the oral, gastric, and intestinal phases, highlighting the MCs efficacy as bioactive delivery systems. This work provides useful information to design bioactive compound delivery systems for food and pharmaceutical applications.

αvβ3 integrin-targeted pH-responsive dendritic nanocarriers for enhanced anti-tumor efficacy of docetaxel against breast cancer

The hyperbranched biodegradable dendrimer (Boltron® H40) has received mounting attention as a result of its efficient encapsulation of therapeutic molecules and sustained release of the payloads into target cancer cells. Herein, we report the Boltron® H40 dendrimer conjugated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and cRGDfc peptide ligand (i.e., H40-PEG-cRGDfc) for higher loading and targeted delivery of Docetaxel (DTX) to breast cancer cells. The characterization of synthesized nanoparticles was carried out by dynamic light scattering (DLS), 1H NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The H40-PEG-cRGDfc exhibited higher DTX encapsulation with 49.83 % drug loading. Interestingly, the DTX release profile of H40-PEG-cRGDfc showed a higher release of DTX at the acidic pH of 5.0 compared to physiological pH. The targeted H40-PEG-cRGDfc nanoparticles showed higher internalization ability towards breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and 4T1. The toxicity study of targeted and non-targeted NPs on NIH-3T3 normal mice cell line showed no apparent toxicity to the cells. The treatment of DTX-loaded targeted NPs (DTX-H40-PEG-cRGDfc) on MDA-MB-231 (IC50 10.06 nM) and 4T1 (IC50 8.67 nM) cell lines confirmed significant anti-breast cancer activity of designed formulation. This study demonstrated that cRGDfc targeted, DTX loaded, Boltron® H40 dendrimer had a significant breast cancer cell-killing ability. The experimental findings of this study displayed future opportunities for developing a targeted nano-therapeutic platform in breast cancer treatment.

Hydrogel Encapsulation Techniques and Its Clinical Applications in Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine: A Systematic Review.

Hydrogel encapsulation is a promising carrier for cell and drug delivery due to its ability to protect the encapsulated entities from harsh physiological conditions and enhance their therapeutic efficacy and bioavailability. However, there is not yet consensus on the optimal hydrogel type, encapsulation method, and clinical application. Therefore, a systematic review of hydrogel encapsulation techniques and their potential for clinical application is needed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview. In this systematic review, we searched electronic databases for articles published between 2008 and 2023 that described the encapsulation of cells or drug molecules within hydrogels. Herein, we identified 9 relevant studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of our study. Our analysis revealed that the physicochemical properties of the hydrogel, such as its porosity, swelling behavior, and degradation rate, play a critical role in the encapsulation of cells or drug molecules. Furthermore, the encapsulation method, including physical, chemical, or biological methods, can affect the encapsulated entities' stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic efficacy. Challenges of hydrogel encapsulation include poor control over the release of encapsulated entities, limited shelf life, and potential immune responses. Future directions of hydrogel encapsulation include the development of novel hydrogel and encapsulation methods and the integration of hydrogel encapsulation with other technologies, such as 3D printing and gene editing. In conclusion, this review is useful for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers who are interested in this field of drug delivery and regenerative medicine that can serve as a guide for the future development of novel technologies that can be applied into clinical practice.

Leguminous ferritin, a natural protein for iron supplementation, Pickering emulsion formation and encapsulation of bioactive molecules

AbstractFerritin is a naturally occurring iron storage protein. Leguminous ferritins exhibit unique structural features, including diverse subunit composition and an extension peptide, which contribute to superior thermal stability compared to animal ferritins. The high iron content, remarkable effectiveness, low risk of oxidative damage and thermal stability make the leguminous ferritin an attractive candidate for iron supplementation. Moreover, apoferritin is an excellent nanosized carrier for encapsulating bioactive compounds due to its inherent inner cavity, water solubility, biocompatibility, and reversible self‐assembly behavior. However, the harsh condition during encapsulation by unmodified ferritins may cause damage to sensitive bioactive compounds. Thus, different processing methods are employed to alter the leguminous ferritin structures, including chemical, enzymatic, mild heat treatments, and nonthermal processing to achieve gentler encapsulation conditions for a wide range of bioactive compounds. Another challenge is to improve the stability of leguminous ferritin to withstand gastric digestion. The degradation of ferritin by proteases may lead to premature release of bioactive compounds. Recent works demonstrated that certain phenolic compounds such as proanthocyanidin‐induced protein association, thereby enhancing digestive stability of ferritins, leading to a sustained release and a potentially greater bioavailability of bioactive compounds. Leguminous ferritin also has the potential to serve as a stabilizer for the Pickering emulsion, where the hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds can be encapsulated in the ferritin nanocages and oil phase, respectively. The release and absorption of bioactive compounds in encapsulates and emulsions will need to be further demonstrated through in vivo studies.

A Molecular Dynamics Study on Xe/Kr Separation Mechanisms Using Crystal Growth Method.

The separation of xenon/krypton gas mixtures is a valuable but challenging endeavor in the gas industry due to their similar physical characteristics and closely sized molecules. To address this, we investigated the effectiveness of the hydrate-based gas separation method for mixed Xe-Kr gas via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The formation process of hydrates facilitates the encapsulation of guest molecules within hydrate cages, offering a potential strategy for gas separation. Higher temperatures and pressures are advantageous for accelerating the hydrate growth rate. The final occupancy of guest molecules and empty cages within 512, 51264, and all hydrate cages were thoroughly examined. An increase in the pressure and temperature enhanced the occupancy rates of Xe in both 512 and 51264 cages, whereas elevated pressure alone improved the occupancy of Kr in 51264 cages. However, the impact of temperature and pressure on Kr occupancy within 512 cages was found to be minimal. Elevated temperature and pressure resulted in a reduced occupancy of empty cages. Predominantly, 51264 cages were occupied by Xe, whereas Kr showed a propensity to occupy the 512 cages. With increasing simulated pressure, the final occupancy of Xe molecules in all cages rose from 0.37 to 0.41 for simulations at 260 K, while the final occupancy of empty cages decreased from 0.24 to 0.2.

Determination of the critical aggregation concentration in water of Gum Arabic functionalized with curcumin oxidation products by micro-scale thermophoresis approach

Gum Arabic underwent enzymatic modification with curcumin oxidation products, prompting self-assembly in water at lower concentrations than native gum Arabic, which was fully soluble. The resulting particles displayed a narrow size distribution, suggestive of a micellization mechanism akin to Critical Micellization Concentration (CMC) in surfactants or Critical Aggregation Concentration (CAC) in polymers. Accurately determining CAC is vital for utilizing polymers in molecule encapsulation, but precise measurement is challenging, requiring multiple techniques. Initially, CAC was probed via turbidity measurements, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and isothermal calorimetric titration (ITC), yielding a range of 0.0015 to 0.01 %. Micro-scale thermophoresis (MST) was then employed for the first time to define CAC more precisely, facilitated by the intrinsic fluorescence of modified gum Arabic. Using MST, CAC was pinpointed at 0.001 % (w/v), a novel approach. Furthermore, MST revealed a low EC50 value of 0.007 % (w/t) for self-assembly, signifying uniformity among GAC sub-units and assembly stability upon dilution.

Transforming the Stability, Encapsulation, and Sustained Release Properties of Calcium Alginate Beads through Gel-Confined Coacervation.

Calcium alginate (Ca2+/alginate) gel beads find use in diverse applications, ranging from drug delivery and tissue engineering to bioprocessing, food formulation, and agriculture. Unless modified, however, these gels have limited stability in alkaline media (including phosphate buffers), and their high solute permeability limits their ability to efficiently encapsulate and slowly release water-soluble small molecules. Here, we show how these limitations can be addressed by mixing the alginate solutions used in the bead preparation with the nontoxic anionic polymer polyphosphate (PP). Upon complexing Ca2+ ions, PP undergoes complex coacervation (i.e., liquid/liquid phase separation into a Ca2+/PP-rich coacervate phase and a dilute supernatant phase). At lower PP concentrations, the Ca2+/PP coacervate appears to simply remain dispersed within the beads. Though its presence makes the beads more stable in alkaline media (phosphate-buffered saline and seawater), it has little impact on the bead stiffness, morphology, and (at least in the absence of substantial payload/coacervate association) encapsulation and release properties. When the PP concentrations exceed a critical value, however, Ca2+/PP coacervation within the gelling Ca2+/alginate beads collapses the resulting beads into more compact, interpenetrating polymer networks. Besides their enhanced stability to alkaline environments, these hybrid beads exhibit irregular morphologies with wrinkled and dimpled surface structures and macroscopic (closed) internal pores, and their collapse into these polymer-rich networks also makes them significantly stiffer than their PP-free counterparts. Crucially, these beads also exhibit a much lower solute permeability, which enables highly efficient encapsulation and multiday release of water-soluble small molecules (with the beads encapsulating >90% of the added model payload and sustaining its release over 3-5 d). Collectively, these findings provide a mild and simple (single-step) pathway to generating ionically cross-linked alginate beads with significantly enhanced stability, encapsulation efficiency, and sustained release.

Multicomponent, Multicavity Metallacages That Contain Different Binding Sites for Allosteric Recognition.

The encapsulation of different guest molecules by their different recognition domains of proteins leads to selective binding, catalysis, and transportation. Synthetic hosts capable of selectively binding different guests in their different cavities to mimic the function of proteins are highly desirable but challenging. Here, we report three ladder-shaped, triple-cavity metallacages prepared by multicomponent coordination-driven self-assembly. Interestingly, the porphyrin-based metallacage is capable of heteroleptic encapsulation of fullerenes (C60 or C70) and coronene using its different cavities, allowing distinct allosteric recognition of coronene upon the addition of C60 or C70. Owing to the different binding affinities of the cavities, the metallacage hosts one C60 molecule in the central cavity and two coronene units in the side cavities, while encapsulating two C70 molecules in the side cavities and one coronene molecule in the central cavity. The rational design of multicavity assemblies that enable heteroleptic encapsulation and allosteric recognition will guide the further design of advanced supramolecular constructs with tunable recognition properties.

Interpretation of molecular electron transport in ab initio many-electron framework incorporating zero-point nuclear motion effects.

A computational methodology, founded on chemical concepts, is presented for interpreting the role of nuclear motion in the electron transport through single-molecule junctions (SMJ) using many-electron ab initio quantum chemical calculations. Within this approach the many-electron states of the system, computed at the SOS-ADC(2) level, are followed along the individual normal modes of the encapsulated molecules. The inspection of the changes in the partial charge distribution of the many-electron states allows the quantification of the electron transport and the estimation of transmission probabilities. This analysis improves the understanding of the relationship between internal motions and electron transport. Two SMJ model systems are studied for validation purposes, constructed from a conductor (BDA, benzene-1,4-diamine) and an insulator molecule (DABCO, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane). The trends of the resulting transmission probabilities are in agreement with the experimental observations, demonstrating the capability of the approach to distinguish between conductor and insulator type systems, thereby offering a straightforward and cost-effective tool for such classifications via quantum chemical calculations.

DNA Hydrogels with Programmable Condensation, Expansion, and Degradation for Molecular Carriers.

Molecular carriers are necessary for the controlled release of drugs and genes to achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes. DNA hydrogels can be a promising candidate in this application with their distinctive sequence-dependent programmability, which allows precise encapsulation of specific cargo molecules and stimuli-responsive release of them at the target. However, DNA hydrogels are inherently susceptible to the degradation of nucleases, making them vulnerable in a physiological environment. To be an effective molecular carrier, DNA hydrogels should be able to protect encapsulated cargo molecules until they reach the target and release them once they are reached. Here, we develop a simple way of controlling the enzyme resistance of DNA hydrogels for cargo protection and release by using cation-mediated condensation and expansion. We found that DNA hydrogels condensed by spermine are highly resistant to enzymatic degradation. They become degradable again if expanded back to their original, uncondensed state by sodium ions interfering with the interaction between spermine and DNA. These controllable condensation, expansion, and degradation of DNA hydrogels pave the way for the development of DNA hydrogels as an effective molecular carrier.

Oxylipin profile of human milk and human milk-derived extracellular vesicles

BackgroundSmall Extracellular Vesicles (sEVs) are nano-sized vesicles that are present in all biofluids including human milk (HM) playing a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication and the stimulation of the neonatal immune system. Oxylipins, which are bioactive lipids formed from polyunsaturated fatty acids, have gained considerable attention due to their potential role in mitigating disease progression and modulating the inflammatory status of breastfed infants. This study aims at an in-depth characterization of the oxylipin profiles of HM and, for the first time, of HM-derived sEVs (HMEVs) employing an ad-hoc developed and validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method. ResultsThe UPLC-MS/MS method covered a panel of 13 oxylipins for quantitation and 93 oxylipins for semi-quantitation. In 200 μL of HM and HMEV isolates of 15 individuals, 42 out of 106 oxylipins were detected in either HM or HMEVs, with 38 oxylipins being detected in both matrices. Oxylipins presented distinct profiles in HM and HMEVs, suggesting specific mechanisms responsible for the encapsulation of target molecules in HMEVs. Ten and eight oxylipins were quantified with ranges between 0.03 – 73 nM and 0.30 pM–0.07 nM in HM and HMEVs, respectively. The most abundant oxylipins found in HMEVs were docosahexaenoic acid derivatives (17-HDHA and 14-HDHA) with known anti-inflammatory properties, and linoleic acid derivatives (9-10-DiHOME and 12,13-DiHOME) in HM samples. Significance and noveltyThis is the first time a selective, relative enrichment of anti-inflammatory oxylipins in HMEVs has been described. Future studies will focus on the anti-inflammatory and pro-healing capacity of oxylipins encapsulated in HMEVs, with potential clinical applications in the field of preterm infant care, specifically the prevention of severe intestinal complications including necrotizing enterocolitis.

Mesenchymal stem cell‐derived extracellular vesicles: Recent therapeutics and targeted drug delivery advances

AbstractThe targeted drug delivery field is rapidly advancing, focusing on developing biocompatible nanoparticles that meet rigorous criteria of non‐toxicity, biocompatibility, and efficient release of encapsulated molecules. Conventional synthetic nanoparticles (SNPs) face complications such as elevated immune responses, complex synthesis methods, and toxicity, which restrict their utility in therapeutics and drug delivery. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as promising substitutes for SNPs, leveraging their ability to cross biological barriers, biocompatibility, reduced toxicity, and natural origin. Notably, mesenchymal stem cell‐derived EVs (MSC‐EVs) have garnered much curiosity due to their potential in therapeutics and drug delivery. Studies suggest that MSC‐EVs, the central paracrine contributors of MSCs, replicate the therapeutic effects of MSCs. This review explores the characteristics of MSC‐EVs, emphasizing their potential in therapeutics and drug delivery for various diseases, including CRISPR/Cas9 delivery for gene editing. It also delves into the obstacles and challenges of MSC‐EVs in clinical applications and provides insights into strategies to overcome the limitations of biodistribution and target delivery.