Estimation of Docosahexaenoic Acid Glycerides in Schizochytrium sp. Oil by Open Column Chromatography and Reversed-phase HPLC

Comparative Lipidomics Profiling of Acylglycerol from Tuna Oil Selectively Hydrolyzed by Thermomyces Lanuginosus Lipase and Candida Antarctica Lipase A

Lipase hydrolysis is an effective method to develop different functional types of lipids. In this study, tuna oil was partially hydrolyzed at 30% and 60% by Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TL 100 L) and Candida Antarctica lipase A (ADL), respectively, to obtain lipid-modified acylglycerols. The lipidomic profiling of the acylglycerols was investigated by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and GC-MS to clarify the lipid modification effect of these two lipases on tuna oil. The results showed that 247 kinds of acylglycerols and 23 kinds of fatty acids were identified in the five samples. In the ADL group, the content of triacylglycerols (TAG) and diacylglycerols (DAG) increased by 4.93% and 114.38%, respectively, with an increase in the hydrolysis degree (HD), while there was a decreasing trend in the TL 100 L group. TL 100 L had a better enrichment effect on DHA, while ADL was more inclined to enrich EPA and hydrolyze saturated fatty acids. Cluster analysis showed that the lipids obtained by the hydrolysis of TL 100 L and ADL were significantly different in the cluster analysis of TAG, DAG, and monoacylglycerols (MAG). TL 100 L has strong TAG selectivity and a strong ability to hydrolyze acylglycerols, while ADL has the potential to synthesize functional lipids containing omega-3 PUFAs, especially DAG.

Enhanced in vitro antitumor efficacy of a polyunsaturated fatty acid-conjugated pH-responsive self-assembled ion-pairing liposome-encapsulated prodrug

The development of clinical chemotherapeutics is always challenging due to the toxicity and side effects of drugs not only for tumor cells but also for normal cells. Therefore, nano-drug delivery systems and prodrug strategies have been applied to address this challenge. Herein, we report a liposome-encapsulated small-molecule prodrug nanosystem, self-assembled by doxorubicin (DOX) and mixed polyunsaturated fatty acid (MPUFA) ion-pairing (MPUFAs-DOX@Liposomes), which has a high omega-3 PUFA content. The increased lipophilicity of ion-paired MPUFAs-DOX can significantly improve the drug loading efficiency (∼97%). Electrostatic interaction, the hydrophobic effect and hydrogen bonding between the ion-pairing agents led to superior pH-responsive release of DOX from liposomes over DOX-loaded liposomes (DOX@Liposomes), with a more rapid release rate at pH 5.0 than at pH 7.4, which is beneficial for decreasing the toxicity of DOX under physiological conditions. Finally, the in vitro antitumor effects were investigated for two tumor cell types, A549 and MCF-7, and the results demonstrated that MPUFAs-DOX@Liposomes showed the highest cytotoxicity compared with free DOX and DOX@Liposomes because of the ready uptake under the effect of PUFAs. Hence, liposomes loaded with ion-paired MPUFAs-DOX is a promising formulation for combination cancer therapy.