title: Plant oil bodies: novel carriers to deliver lipophilic molecules.
abstract: Oil bodies (OBs) are specialised organelles ubiquitously detected in plant oil seeds, which serve as lipid storage compartments. OBs consist of a hydrophobic core of triacylglycerol (TAGs), surrounded by a monolayer of phospholipids (PLs) embedded with some specific proteins with a size ranging from 0.5 to 2 μm. In this work, we report an easy method to reconstitute OBs starting from their constituents and to encapsulate lipophilic molecules, i.e. the fluorescent fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and carboxyfluorescein (CF), into reconstituted OBs. This methods allowed us to produce OBs 4- to 10-fold smaller (50-200 nm) than the native one and to obtain a good recovery (about 40%) of both the fluorescent compounds used in the present work. The properties of reconstituted OBs were investigated by a combination of Brewster angle microscopy, scanning force microscopy, ζ-potential techniques. OBs were stable and formed ordered monolayers when patterned on hydrophobic substrates whereas they showed a higher tendency to aggregate into larger, coalescing OBs when were deposited onto hydrophilic substrates or at the air/water interface. Furthermore, we verified the uptake of FITC-loaded OBs by the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Our results indicated that OBs could be envisaged as novel carriers to deliver hydrophobic bioactive compounds.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production CNR Unit of Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonsegna
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bettini
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zacheo
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vergaro
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giovinazzo
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caminati
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leporatti
authors.forename: Ludovico
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Valli
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santino
mesh_terms: D000388:Air; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D031211:Corylus / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism*; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000378:metabolism*; D027861:Prunus / Q000737:chemistry; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D010938:Plant Oils; D014867:Water