Cyclotide nanotubes as a novel potential Drug-Delivery System: Characterization and biocompatibility

• Published in: International journal of pharmaceutics 2023-07, Vol.642, p.123104-123104, Article 123104
• Main Authors: Dayani, Ladan, Aliomrani, Mehdi, Hashempour, Hossein, Varshosaz, Jaleh, Dinani, Masoud Sadeghi, Taheri, Azade
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Biocompatibility; Cyclotides; Female; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nanotubes; Self-assembly; Stability
• ISSN: 0378-5173; 1873-3476
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.123104

[Display omitted] •Cyclotide nanotubes are stable even at 200 °C.•Cyclotide nanotubes could efficiently entrap coumarin.•Cyclotide nanotubes could be stable after 3 months keeping at −20 °C.•Cyclotide nanotubes are biocompatible agents.•Cyclotide nanotubes could be used as immunomodulatory agents. Cyclotides are a class of cyclic peptides that can be self-assembled. This study aimed to discover the properties of cyclotide nanotubes. We performed differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) to characterize their properties. Then, we incorporated the coumarin as a probe and identified the morphology of nanostructures. The stability of cyclotide nanotubes after 3 months of keeping at −20 °C was determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The cytocompatibility of cyclotide nanotubes was evaluated on peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In vivo, studies were also conducted on female C57BL/6 mice by intraperitoneally administration of nanotubes at 5, 50, and 100 mg/kg doses. Blood sampling was done before and 24 h after nanotube administration and complete blood count tests were conducted. DSC thermogram showed that the cyclotide nanotubes were stable after heating until 200 °C. Fluorescence microscopy images proved that the self-assembled structures of cyclotide can encapsulate the coumarin. FESEM proved that these nanotubes were stable even after 3 months. The results of the cytotoxicity assay and in-vivo study confirmed that these novel prepared nanotubes were biocompatible. These results suggested that the cyclotide nanotubes could be considered as a new carrier in biological fields while they are biocompatible.