Rhamnolipid nanoparticles for in vivo drug delivery and photodynamic therapy

Herein, we report the development of self-assembled nanoparticles using rhamnolipid, a biosurfactant. Rhamnolipid is produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and has an amphiphilic structure that is suitable for the formation of a nanoparticle shell. These rhamnolipid nanoparticles were loaded with pheophorbide a (Pba), a hydrophobic photosensitizer. The resulting nanoparticles had about 136.1-nm-diameter spherical shapes and had excellent water solubility without aggregation for one month. These nanoparticles showed fast uptake into SCC7 tumor cells and induced photodynamic damage upon laser irradiation. After intravenous injection to SCC7 tumor-bearing mice, their long blood circulation time and high accumulation in tumor tissue were observed in real-time fluorescence imaging. Upon laser irradiation, these rhamnolipid nanoparticles showed complete tumor suppression by photodynamic therapy in vivo. These promising results demonstrate the potential of rhamnolipid nanoparticles for drug delivery, and suggest that further attention to rhamnolipid research would be fruitful. New self-assembled nanoparticles were developed using rhamnolipid, a biosurfactant which is produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pheophorbide a (Pba), a hydrophobic photosensitizer was loaded into the nanoparticles. Their diameter was about 136.1 nm, and they had excellent water solubility without aggregation for one month. These nanoparticles showed fast uptake into tumor cells. After intravenous injection to SCC7 tumor-bearing mice, their long blood circulation time and high accumulation in tumor tissue were observed in real-time fluorescence imaging. Upon laser irradiation, they showed complete tumor suppression by photodynamic therapy in vivo. On the basis of these results, we expect that more applications for rhamnolipid nanoparticles will be explored in the future. [Display omitted]