title: Biological activity and photostability of biflorin micellar nanostructures.
abstract: Capraria biflora L. is a shrub from the Scrophulariaceae family which produces in its roots a compound named biflorin, an o-naphthoquinone that shows activity against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi and also presents antitumor and antimetastatic activities. However, biflorin is hydrophobic and photosensitive. These properties make its application difficult. In this work we prepared biflorin micellar nanostructures looking for a more effective vehiculation and better preservation of the biological activity. Biflorin was obtained, purified and characterized by UV-Vis, infrared (IR) and 1H- and 13C-NMR. Micellar nanostructures of biflorin were then assembled with Tween 80®, Tween 20® and saline (0.9%) and characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results showed that the micellar nanostructures were stable and presented an average size of 8.3 nm. Biflorin micellar nanostructures' photodegradation was evaluated in comparison with biflorin in ethanol. Results showed that the biflorin in micellar nanostructures was better protected from light than biflorin dissolved in ethanol, and also indicated that biflorin in micelles were efficient against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast species. In conclusion, the results showed that the micellar nanostructures could ensure the maintenance of the biological activity of biflorin, conferring photoprotection. Moreover, biflorin vehiculation in aqueous media was improved, favoring its applicability in biological systems.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biofísica e Radiobiologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil. erbs2k@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Edson R B
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biofísica e Radiobiologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil. joaopaulo.ferreiraneto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: João P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ferreira-Neto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil. ricardo.yara@ufpe.br.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yara
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Antibióticos, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil. k.xisto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kêsia X F R
authors.initials: KX
authors.lastname: Sena
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biofísica e Radiobiologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil. adriana.fontes.pesquisador@cnpq.br.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fontes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biofísica e Radiobiologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil. csampaio@ufpe.br.
authors.forename: Cláudia S A
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lima
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D008823:Micelles; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D028083:Scrophulariaceae / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D008823:Micelles; D009285:Naphthoquinones; C522781:biflorin
keywords: biflorin; biological activity; micellar nanostructures; photostability; stability