NANOPARTÍCULAS DE GLIADINA CONTENDO HESPERIDINA REVESTIDAS COM QUITOSANA

Abstract

Hesperidin is one of the main flavonoids present in citrus fruits. This compound has several beneficial properties, including antitumor properties. However, hesperidin is rapidly hydrolyzed and one of the ways to protect this compound is its nanoencapsulation. In this study, gliadin-based nanoparticles containing hesperidin were obtained by the desolvation technique and a 32 factorial design was used to optimize the formulation. Independent variables were defined as CaCl2 concentration (0.5; 1 or 2%) and stabilizing agent (Pluronic F68, Tween 80 or sodium caseinate). The dependent variables were mean diameter, polydispersion index, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency. To determine the hesperidin content in the medium, a method for the determination of Hesperidin using UV-visible molecular absorption spectroscopy was developed and validated. The method was linear in the range of 0.27 to 100 mg/L with LD = 0.01 mg/L and LQ = 0.01 mg/L, exact with recoveries ranging from 98.8 ± 4.8 to 104 .2 ± 4.8 and accurate with 3.4% RSD. The method proved to be efficient for the determination of the free compound in suspension of nanoparticles. The optimized formulation was coated with chitosan to increase the physical stability of the nanoparticles. The final nanoparticles had a mean diameter of 321 nm and a polydispersion index of 0.217 and an oval shape. After coating, the Zeta potential was +21 mV and the encapsulation efficiency was 73%. The in vitro release profile showed that about 98% of the drug was released from the nanoparticles after 48 h. Furthermore, the nanoparticles reduced the cytotoxicity of hesperidin in healthy cells (Vero cells) and increased the cytotoxicity in tumor cells (HeLa, PC-3 and Caco-2 cells). The results showed that chitosan-coated gliadin nanoparticles are potential carriers for the delivery of hesperidin in possible treatments.