title: Preparation, physical-chemical and biological characterization of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with lysozyme.
abstract: A commercially available chitosan (CS) was employed in the formulation of nanoparticles loaded with lysozyme (LZ) as antimicrobial protein drug model. Due to the variability of commercially available batches of chitosans and to the strict dependence of their physical and biological properties to the molecular weight (Mw) and deacetylation degree (DD) of the material, the CS was fully characterized resulting in weight-average molecular weight of 108,120g/mol and DD of 92%. LZ-loaded nanoparticles (LZ-NPs) of 150nm diameter were prepared by inotropic gelation. The nanoparticles were effectively preserving the antibacterial activity of the loaded enzyme, which was slowly released over 3 weeks in vitro and remained active toward Staphylococcus epidermidis up to 5 days of incubation. Beyond the intrinsic antibacterial activity of CS and LZ, the LZ-NPs evidenced a sustained antibacterial activity that resulted in about 2 log reduction of the number of viable S. epidermidis compared to plain CS nanoparticles. Furthermore, the LZ-NPs showed a full in vitro cytocompatibility toward murine fibroblasts and, in addition to the potential antimicrobial applications of the developed system, the proposed study could serve as an optimal model for development of CS nanoparticles carrying antimicrobial peptides for biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications (BIOlab), UdR INSTM, Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, via Vecchia Livornese 1291, 56010 San Piero a Grado (Pi), Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppantonio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maisetta
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications (BIOlab), UdR INSTM, Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, via Vecchia Livornese 1291, 56010 San Piero a Grado (Pi), Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sandreschi
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Semih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications (BIOlab), UdR INSTM, Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, via Vecchia Livornese 1291, 56010 San Piero a Grado (Pi), Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gazzarri
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Batoni
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications (BIOlab), UdR INSTM, Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, via Vecchia Livornese 1291, 56010 San Piero a Grado (Pi), Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: federica@dcci.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiellini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048271:Chitosan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009113:Muramidase / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D048271:Chitosan; D009113:Muramidase
keywords: Chitosan; Deacetylation degree; Lysozyme; Nanoparticles; Sustained antibacterial activity