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Ph.D. student Dissaya “Nu” Pornpattananangkul is developing a smart system of drug delivery.
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A natural product found in both coconut oil and human breast milk—lauric
acid—shines as a possible new acne treatment thanks to a bioengineering
graduate student from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. The
student developed a “smart delivery system”—published in the journal ACS
Nano in March—capable of delivering lauric-acid-filled nano-scale
bombs directly to skin-dwelling bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes) that
cause common acne.
Common acne, also known as “acne vulgaris,” afflicts more than 85% of
teenagers and over 40 million people in the United States; and current
treatments have undesirable side effects including redness and burning. Lauric-acid-based
treatments could avoid these side effects, the UC San Diego researchers say.
“It’s a good feeling to know that I have a chance to develop a drug that
could help people with acne,” said Pornpattananangkul, who performs this
research in the Nanomaterials
and Nanomedicine Laboratory of UC San Diego NanoEngineering professor
Liangfang Zhang from the Jacobs School of Engineering.
The new smart delivery system includes gold nanoparticles attached to
surfaces of lauric-acid-filled nano-bombs. The gold nanoparticles keep the
nano-bombs (liposomes) from fusing together. The gold nanoparticles also help
the liposomes locate acne-causing bacteria based on the skin microenvironment,
including pH.
Once the nano-bombs reach the bacterial membranes, the acidic
microenvironment causes the gold nanoparticles to drop off. This frees the
liposomes carrying lauric acid payloads to fuse with bacterial membranes and
kill the Propionibacterium acnes bacteria.
“Precisely controlled nano-scale delivery of drugs that are applied
topically to the skin could significantly improve the treatment of skin
bacterial infections. By delivering drugs directly to the bacteria of interest,
we hope to boost antimicrobial efficacy and minimize off-target adverse
effects,” said Zhang. “All building blocks of the nano-bombs are either natural
products or have been approved for clinical use, which means these nano-bombs
are likely to be tested on humans in the near future.”
Zhang noted that nano-scale topical drug delivery systems face a different
set of challenges than systems that use nanotechnology to deliver drugs
systematically to people.
Pornpattananangkul and UC San Diego chemical engineering undergraduate Darren
Yang confirmed, in 2009 in the journal Biomaterials, the antimicrobial
activity of nano-scale packets of lauric acid against Propionibacterium
acnes.
Pornpattananangkul, who is originally from Thailand, said that it’s just a
coincidence that her research involves a natural product produced by coconuts—a
staple of Thai cuisine.
Watch the video (2 or 3.5 minute version) on the Jacobs School
blog.
SOURCE
