Nanostructured lipid carriers loaded with essential oils: a strategy against SARS-CoV-2

• Published in: Journal of microencapsulation 2024-06, Vol.41 (4), p.284-295
• Main Authors: Almeida, L F, Gil, G A, Moraes, L N, Furtado, F B, Kakuda, L, Grotto, R M T, Oliveira, W P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antiviral Agents - administration & dosage; Antiviral Agents - chemistry; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Chlorocebus aethiops; COVID-19; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Humans; Lipids - chemistry; Lippia - chemistry; Nanostructures - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - administration & dosage; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Particle Size; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; Syzygium - chemistry; Vero Cells
• ISSN: 0265-2048; 1464-5246; 1464-5246
• DOI: 10.1080/02652048.2024.2348463

This work aimed to investigate the effectiveness of and essential oils (EOs) encapsulated in nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors through virucidal activity assessment. We developed anionic and cationic NLCs loaded with the EOs and assessed their physicochemical properties and SARS-CoV-2 virucidal activity, focusing on the effects of EO type and the NLCs composition. The NLCs exhibited particle sizes of 141.30 to 160.53 nm for anionic and 109.30 to 138.60 nm for cationic types, with PDIs between 0.16 and 0.25. High zeta potentials (>29.0 in modulus) indicated stable formulations. The NLCs effectively encapsulated the EOs, achieving encapsulation efficiencies between 84.6 to 100% w/w of marker compound. The EOs-loaded NLCs reduced the SARS-CoV-2 virion count, exceeding 2 logs over the control. NLCs loaded with and EOs represent an innovative strategy for combating SARS-CoV-2.