Bacterial outer membrane vesicles-cloaked modified zein nanoparticles for oral delivery of paclitaxel

To improve the aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability of paclitaxel (PTX), a biomimetic system for oral administration of PTX was efficiently developed as an outer membrane vesicle (OMVs) of sodium caseinate (CAS) modified zein nanoparticles (OMVs-Zein-CAS-PTX-NPs) by Escherichia coli. To verify their structure and properties, the designed nanostructures were thoroughly characterized using various characterization techniques. The results indicated that hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces mainly drove the interaction between PTX and Zein, but the complex is unstable. The physicochemical stability of PTX-loaded zein nanoparticles was improved by the addition of CAS. The biological characteristics of biofilms are reproduced by nanoparticles cloaked with outer membrane vesicles. OMVs-Zein-CAS-PTX-NPs delayed the release of PTX under simulated gastric and intestinal fluids due to OMVs protection. OMVs-Zein-CAS-PTX-NPs exhibited remarkable antitumor ability in vitro and improved the bioavailability of oral administration of PTX in vivo. Therefore, OMVs cloaked in nanoparticles may be a suitable delivery vehicle to provide an efficient application prospect for the oral administration of PTX.