Fucoidan from <i>Fucus vesiculosus</i>: Evaluation of the Impact of the Sulphate Content on Nanoparticle Production and Cell Toxicity
Noelia Flórez-Fernández,
Jorge F. Pontes,
Filipa Guerreiro,
Inês T. Afonso,
Giovanna Lollo,
Maria Dolores Torres,
Herminia Domínguez,
Ana M. Rosa da Costa,
Ana Grenha
Affiliations
Noelia Flórez-Fernández
Drug Delivery Laboratory, Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Jorge F. Pontes
Drug Delivery Laboratory, Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Filipa Guerreiro
Drug Delivery Laboratory, Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Inês T. Afonso
Drug Delivery Laboratory, Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Giovanna Lollo
University of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, LAGEPP CNRS, UMR 5007, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
Maria Dolores Torres
CINBIO, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Herminia Domínguez
CINBIO, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Ana M. Rosa da Costa
Algarve Chemistry Research Center (CIQA) and Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Ana Grenha
Drug Delivery Laboratory, Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
The composition of seaweeds is complex, with vitamins, phenolic compounds, minerals, and polysaccharides being some of the factions comprising their structure. The main polysaccharide in brown seaweeds is fucoidan, and several biological activities have been associated with its structure. Chitosan is another marine biopolymer that is very popular in the biomedical field, owing to its suitable features for formulating drug delivery systems and, particularly, particulate systems. In this work, the ability of fucoidan to produce nanoparticles was evaluated, testing different amounts of a polymer and using chitosan as a counterion. Nanoparticles of 200–300 nm were obtained when fucoidan prevailed in the formulation, which also resulted in negatively charged nanoparticles. Adjusting the pH of the reaction media to 4 did not affect the physicochemical characteristics of the nanoparticles. The IC50 of fucoidan was determined, in both HCT−116 and A549 cells, to be around 160 µg/mL, whereas it raised to 675–100 µg/mL when nanoparticles (fucoidan/chitosan = 2/1, w/w) were tested. These marine materials (fucoidan and chitosan) provided features suitable to formulate polymeric nanoparticles to use in biomedical applications.