Lipopeptide and essential oil based nanoemulsion for controlled drug delivery

ABSTRACT

Nanoemulsions are one of the systems being used for targeted drug delivery. Lipopeptide possesses antibacterial and anticancer activities, and eucalyptus essential oil offers antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, a nanoemulsion based drug delivery system has been synthesized using the above combinations (eucalyptus essential oil and surfactin) for the first time and investigated for the enhanced antibacterial and anticancer features. The prepared emulsion found to be spherical, with an average size of 175 ± 18 nm. An anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), loaded nanoemulsion exhibited excellent physical and chemical stability under pH (3–9), temperature (45°C), and external shear (10000 rpm). The loaded nanoemulsion showed a sustainable release of DOX up to an extended period of 24 h. The release kinetic rate from the nanoemulsion was estimated to be 0.1 ± 0.01 h⁻¹, which was about 35 times lower than that of free DOX. The prepared nanoemulsion displayed an enhanced broad-spectrum antibacterial activity with the comparable IC₉₀ value to the Kanamycin. The DOX loaded emulsion was found to be highly effective against cancer cells and its inhibitory concentration, IC₅₀ value, was reduced by 10 folds as compared to only DOX. The synergistic effects of surfactin, DOX, along with essential oil, improved both the antibacterial and anticancer properties of the prepared nanoemulsion.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Nanoemulsion
• eucalyptus essential oil
• surfactin
• antibacterial
• anticancer
• drug delivery

Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to the Central Instruments Facility (CIF) of Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), India for providing all necessary instrumentation facilities. Authors are also obliged to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for TEQIP-III.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development [TEQIP-III].

Notes on contributors

Rushikesh Fopase

Rushikesh Fopase is a PhD student in the Bio-Interface & Environmental Engineering Lab of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.

Sanket R. Pathode

Sanket R. Pathode was the summer intern in the Bio-Interface & Environmental Engineering Lab of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. He is a B.Tech student at Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India.

Swati Sharma

Swati Sharma is a PhD student in the Bio-Interface & Environmental Engineering Lab of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.

Poulami Datta

Poulami Datta is a PhD student at the Centre for the Environment, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.

Lalit M. Pandey

Lalit M. Pandey is an Associate Professor of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. He is the head of Bio-Interface & Environmental Engineering Lab of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.