Lactoferrin-Loaded Alginate Microparticles to Target Clostridioides difficile Infection.

Some forms of bovine lactoferrin (bLf) are effective in delaying Clostridioides difficile growth and preventing toxin production. However, therapeutic use of bLf may be limited by protein stability issues. The objective of this study was to prepare and evaluate colon-targeted, pH-triggered alginate microparticles loaded with bioactive bLf and to evaluate their anti-C difficile defense properties in vitro.

Upper critical solution temperature thermo-responsive polymer brushes and a mechanism for controlled cell attachment.

We report the synthesis of thermo-responsive polymer brushes with Upper Critical Solution Temperature (UCST)-type behaviour on glass to provide a new means to control cell attachment. Thermoresponsive poly(N-acryloyl glycinamide)-stat-poly(N-phenylacrylamide) (PNAGAm-PNPhAm) brushes with three different monomer ratios were synthesized to give tunable phase transition temperatures (T) in solution. Surface energies of surface-grafted brushes of these polymers at 25, 32, 37 and 50 °C were calculated from contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies confirmed that these polymers were highly extended at temperatures close to T in physiologically-relevant media.