Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy
The efficiency of photodynamic therapy is often limited by the scarcity of oxygen at the target site. To address this problem, this work proposes the development of a new nanosystem for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy applications (aPDT) where the natural-origin photosensitizer curcumin (CUR) is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1080 |
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| author | Joana Henriques João Pina Mara E. M. Braga Ana M. A. Dias Patrícia Coimbra Hermínio C. de Sousa |
| author_facet | Joana Henriques João Pina Mara E. M. Braga Ana M. A. Dias Patrícia Coimbra Hermínio C. de Sousa |
| author_sort | Joana Henriques |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The efficiency of photodynamic therapy is often limited by the scarcity of oxygen at the target site. To address this problem, this work proposes the development of a new nanosystem for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy applications (aPDT) where the natural-origin photosensitizer curcumin (CUR) is immersed in an oxygen-rich environment. Inspired by the perfluorocarbon-based photosensitizer/O<sub>2</sub> nanocarriers reported in the literature, we developed a new type of silica nanocapsule containing curcumin dissolved in three hydrophobic ionic liquids (ILs) with high oxygen dissolving capacities. The nanocapsules (CUR-IL@ncSi), prepared by an original oil-in-water microemulsion/sol-gel method, had a high IL content and exhibited clear capacities to dissolve and release significant amounts of oxygen, as demonstrated by deoxygenation/oxygenation studies. The ability of CUR-IL solutions and of CUR-IL@ncSi to generate singlet oxygen (<sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub>) upon irradiation was confirmed by the detection of <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub> phosphorescence at 1275 nm. Furthermore, the enhanced capacities of oxygenated CUR-IL@ncSi suspensions to generate <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub> upon irradiation with blue light were confirmed by an indirect spectrophotometric method. Finally, preliminary microbiological tests using CUR-IL@ncSi incorporated into gelatin films showed the occurrence of antimicrobial effects due to photodynamic inactivation, with their relative efficiencies depending on the specific IL in which curcumin was dissolved. Considering these results, CUR-IL@ncSi has the potential to be used in the future to develop biomedical products with enhanced oxygenation and aPDT capacities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:38:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55f227d588504ec2922a9f50a981abc7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:38:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-55f227d588504ec2922a9f50a981abc72023-11-17T20:52:26ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232023-03-01154108010.3390/pharmaceutics15041080Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic TherapyJoana Henriques0João Pina1Mara E. M. Braga2Ana M. A. Dias3Patrícia Coimbra4Hermínio C. de Sousa5Chemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, PortugalCoimbra Chemistry Centre-Institute of Molecular Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, PortugalChemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, PortugalChemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, PortugalChemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, PortugalChemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, PortugalThe efficiency of photodynamic therapy is often limited by the scarcity of oxygen at the target site. To address this problem, this work proposes the development of a new nanosystem for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy applications (aPDT) where the natural-origin photosensitizer curcumin (CUR) is immersed in an oxygen-rich environment. Inspired by the perfluorocarbon-based photosensitizer/O<sub>2</sub> nanocarriers reported in the literature, we developed a new type of silica nanocapsule containing curcumin dissolved in three hydrophobic ionic liquids (ILs) with high oxygen dissolving capacities. The nanocapsules (CUR-IL@ncSi), prepared by an original oil-in-water microemulsion/sol-gel method, had a high IL content and exhibited clear capacities to dissolve and release significant amounts of oxygen, as demonstrated by deoxygenation/oxygenation studies. The ability of CUR-IL solutions and of CUR-IL@ncSi to generate singlet oxygen (<sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub>) upon irradiation was confirmed by the detection of <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub> phosphorescence at 1275 nm. Furthermore, the enhanced capacities of oxygenated CUR-IL@ncSi suspensions to generate <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub> upon irradiation with blue light were confirmed by an indirect spectrophotometric method. Finally, preliminary microbiological tests using CUR-IL@ncSi incorporated into gelatin films showed the occurrence of antimicrobial effects due to photodynamic inactivation, with their relative efficiencies depending on the specific IL in which curcumin was dissolved. Considering these results, CUR-IL@ncSi has the potential to be used in the future to develop biomedical products with enhanced oxygenation and aPDT capacities.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1080silica nanocapsulescurcuminionic liquidsoxygen storage/releasephotodynamic inactivation |
| spellingShingle | Joana Henriques João Pina Mara E. M. Braga Ana M. A. Dias Patrícia Coimbra Hermínio C. de Sousa Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy Pharmaceutics silica nanocapsules curcumin ionic liquids oxygen storage/release photodynamic inactivation |
| title | Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy |
| title_full | Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy |
| title_fullStr | Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy |
| title_short | Novel Oxygen- and Curcumin-Laden Ionic Liquid@Silica Nanocapsules for Enhanced Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy |
| title_sort | novel oxygen and curcumin laden ionic liquid silica nanocapsules for enhanced antimicrobial photodynamic therapy |
| topic | silica nanocapsules curcumin ionic liquids oxygen storage/release photodynamic inactivation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1080 |
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