Development of novel flexible sugar ester vesicles as carrier systems for the antioxidant enzyme catalase for wound healing applications

• Published in: Process biochemistry (1991) 2012-07, Vol.47 (7), p.1155-1162
• Main Authors: Abdel-Mageed, Heidi M., El-Laithy, Hanan M., Mahran, Laila G., Fahmy, Afaf S., Mäder, Karsten, Mohamed, Saleh A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antioxidants; carbon; Catalase; catalytic activity; electron microscopy; Encapsulation; extrusion; fatty acid esters; hydrogen peroxide; hydrophilicity; in vivo studies; Nano-vesicles; phospholipids; Sugar esters; sugars; tissue repair; trypsin; Wound healing
• ISSN: 1359-5113; 1873-3298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2012.04.008

► We prepared new flexible biocompatible nano sugar ester vesicles (SE). ► Encapsulation of catalase (CAT) in the SE proved to enhance its kinetic parameters. ► New opportunities for topical application of CAT-EV were confirmed in vivo. The antioxidant enzyme catalase (CAT) was encapsulated in biocompatible flexible non-ionic sugar esters (SEs) nano-vesicles for potential topical administration. The effects of the SE hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) value and the carbon chain length of the fatty acid ester of different SEs on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) were studied. Morphology of the vesicles was not altered upon CAT encapsulation using freeze fracture electron microscopy. The extrusion measurements indicated that there was an increase in the vesicle's flexibility index upon the inclusion of phospholipids. The mean diameter of the CAT-EV (ester vesicle; HSC and HSC–PL) was 222–275nm using laser diffraction measurements. The catalytic efficiency (Vmax/Km) of CAT was improved after encapsulation by a factor of 1.7. Both free CAT and CAT-EV showed maximum catalytic activity at pH 7.0, and CAT-EV was more stable than free CAT at acidic pH, which is advantageous for successful topical delivery. Encapsulation of CAT in SE vesicles protected it against trypsin treatment. Encapsulated CAT retained more than 60% residual activity after 12 successive decomposition cycles of H2O2. CAT-EV activity was significantly preserved compared to that of free CAT at 4°C for 180 days. The in vivo study showed a significant effect of the prepared CAT nano-vesicles on wound healing.