Novel Application of the Sophorolipid Biosurfactant : in Enhancing the Solubility and Delivery of the Anticancer Drug Camptothecin

ISBN-13: 9783330965270 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 108 str.

Heba Atallah

Opis

Drug delivery is one of the most challenging fields today due to the development of drugs which have low aqueous solubility, and bioavailability. Instead of wasting millions of dollars and years on screening for new drugs, why not invest in increasing the efficacy of existing ones? Biosurfactants are amphiphillic molecules that display exotic surface active properties. They are promising biodegradable and biocompatible molecules that could be produced by a wide range of organisms. They can form structures called micelles that could encapsulate insoluble molecules and increase their bioavailability and solubility; such as drugs. In this project, the biosurfactant sophorolipid was used to enhance the solubility and delivery of an anticancer drug, camptothecin. The data obtained showed the significant effect of sophorolipids in which they maximized the solubilisation capacity of pluronic micelles. All in all, scientists are continuously searching for biocompatible molecules that could solve the never ending problems of drug delivery, sophorolipids should be considered in future pharmaceutical applications because they meet the search criteria perfectly.

O autorze

I graduated top of my class from MSA University, Faculty of Biotechnology. This gave me an opportunity to complete my Masters at the University of Greenwich, UK and grow my interest in the fields of cancer biology and drug delivery. Despite being miles away from home, I was closer to achieving my dreams. I hope this book would be my first milestone