Swelling and penetration of fatty acid vesicles under ion-competitive environment.

The physicochemical characteristics of fatty acid (FA) vesicles and their ion sensitivity as drug delivery vehicles in an ion-competitive environment have received much attention. Here, we show that in a Na/K competitive ionic environment, FA vesicles undergo a cascade of periodic expansion and selective ion retention in response to osmotic attack. When the Na/K ratio is altered, the expansion and volume of vesicles are affected and the ions in vesicles mix with the hyperosmotic fluid to produce a stable transmembrane potential, consistent with the Donnan effect and iontophoresis theory.

Effects of Coix Seed Oil on High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Dyslipidemia.

Dietary intervention is becoming more popular as a way to improve lipid metabolism and reduce the prevalence of diet-related chronic disorders. We evaluated the effects of several dietary oils on body weight, fat mass, liver weight, and tumor necrosis factor in obese mice given a high-fat diet (HFD) to discover if coix seed oil (CSO) had an anti-obesity impact. As compared to other dietary fats, CSO treatment considerably lowered body weight and liver index, successfully sup-pressed total cholesterol and triglyceride content, and raised liver lipid deposition and lipid metabolism problem induced by high fat intake.

Sucrose Osmotic Self-Oscillation Drives Membrane Permeability.

Molecular permeation through phospholipid membranes is a fundamental biological process for small molecules. Sucrose is one of the most widely used sweeteners and a key factor in the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes, yet a detailed understanding of its mechanism involved in permeability into phospholipid membranes is still lacking. Here, using giant unimolecular vesicles (GUVs) reconstituting membrane properties, we compared the osmotic behavior of sucrose in GUVs and HepG2 cells to explore the effect of sucrose on membrane stability in the absence of protein enhancers.

Effection of Lactic Acid Dissociation on Swelling-Based Short-Chain Fatty Acid Vesicles Nano-Delivery.

Functionalized small-molecule assemblies can exhibit nano-delivery properties that significantly improve the bioavailability of bioactive molecules. This study explored the self-assembly of short-chain fatty acids (FA, Cn < 8) to form novel biomimetic nanovesicles as delivery systems. Lactic acid is involved in the regulation of multiple signaling pathways in cancer metabolism, and the dissociation of lactic acid (LA) is used to regulate the delivery effect of short-chain fatty acid vesicles.