Natural melanin: a potential pH-responsive drug release device.
This work proposes melanin as a new nanocarrier for pH-responsive drug release. Melanin is an abundant natural polymer that can be easily extracted from cuttlefish as nanoparticles with a suitable size range for drug delivery. However, despite its high potentiality, the application of this biopolymer in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields is yet to be explored. Herein, melanin nanoparticles were impregnated with metronidazole, chosen as model antibiotic drug, using supercritical carbon dioxide. The drug release profile was investigated at acidic and physiologic pH, and the dominant mechanism was found to follow a non-Fickian transport. Drug release from melanin shows a strong pH dependency, which allied to its biocompatibility and lack of cytotoxicity envisages its potential application as nanocarrier in formulations for colon and intestine targeted drug delivery.
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
Marco
M
Araújo
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
Raquel
R
Viveiros
CICS-UBI - Centro de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
Tiago R
TR
Correia
CICS-UBI - Centro de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
Ilídio J
IJ
Correia
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
Vasco D B
VD
Bonifácio
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. Electronic address: teresa.casimiro@fct.unl.pt.
Teresa
T
Casimiro
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. Electronic address: air@fct.unl.pt.
Ana
A
Aguiar-Ricardo
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008543:Melanins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008956:Models, Chemical; D053758:Nanoparticles; D010316:Particle Size; D012995:Solubility; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008543:Melanins; D008795:Metronidazole
Biocompatibility; Melanin; Nanocarrier; Supercritical carbon dioxide; pH-responsive drug release