The gene for oleosin, a protein from a plant, was inserted into a vector and expressed in bacteria. Many different variants were made by recombinant methods. The purified proteins were assembled in structures, including vesicles, a capsule that can carry a large payload of drugs. This is the first demonstration of vesicles being made from a recombinant protein. Credit: University of Pennsylvania

(Phys.org) -- Finding biocompatible carriers that can get drugs to their targets in the body involves significant challenges. Beyond practical concerns of manufacturing and loading these vehicles, the carriers must work effectively with the drug and be safe to consume. Vesicles, hollow capsules shaped like double-walled bubbles, are ideal candidates, as the body naturally produces similar structures to move chemicals from one place to another. Finding the right molecules to assemble into capsules, however, remains difficult.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have now shown a new approach for making vesicles and fine-tuning their shapes. By starting with a protein that is found in sunflower seeds, they used genetic engineering to make a variety of protein molecules that assemble into vesicles and other useful structures.

Daniel A. Hammer, Alfred G. and Meta A. Ennis Professor of Bioengineering, graduate student Kevin Vargo and research scientist Ranganath Parthasarathy of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Penns School of Engineering and Applied Science conducted the research.

Their work was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

To our knowledge, this is the first time a vesicle has been made from a recombinant protein, Hammer said.

Recombinant proteins are the products of a well-established technique that involves introducing a designed gene sequence into a host organism in most cases, the bacterium E. coli in order to get that organism to make a protein it would not normally produce.

Hammers group worked for nearly a decade to find a protein that was biocompatible, could be produced through recombinant methods and, most important, could be induced to form vesicles.

The molecule we identified is called oleosin, Hammer said. Its a surfactant protein found in sunflower and sesame seeds.

Surfactants are soap-like chemicals that have two distinct sides; one side is attracted to water and the other is repelled by it. They can make many structures in solution but making vesicles is rare. Most often, surfactants make micelles, in which a single layer of molecules aggregates with the water-loving part on the outside and the water-hating part on the inside. Micelles have a limited ability to carry drugs. Vesicles, in contrast, have two walls aligned so the two water-hating sides face each other. The water-loving interior cavity allows the transport of a large payload of water-soluble molecules that are suspended in water. Since many drugs are water soluble, vesicles offer significant advantages for drug delivery.

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Engineers convert a natural plant protein into drug-delivery vehicles

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