Orally deliverable sequence-targeted astaxanthin nanoparticles for colitis alleviation

Orally targeted strategy of anti-inflammatory agents has attracted tremendous attention for reducing highly health-care costs and enhancing the intervention efficiency of ulcerative colitis (UC). Herein, we developed a new kind of sequence-targeted astaxanthin nanoparticles for UC treatment. Astaxanthin nanoparticles were firstly designed by self-assembly method using (3-carboxypentyl) (triphenyl) phosphonium bromide (TPP)-modified whey protein isolate (WPI)-dextran (DX) conjugates. Subsequently, lipoic acid (LA) modified hyaluronic acid (HA) was coated on the surface of the nanoparticles by double emulsion evaporation method. Exhilaratingly, the constructed sequence-targeted astaxanthin nanoparticle exhibited excellent macrophages and mitochondria targeting ability, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.84 adstnd 0.92, respectively. In vivo imaging elucidated an obvious accumulation of the sequence-targeted nanoparticles in colon tissues in UC mice. Meanwhile, the reduction stimulus release features of astaxanthin were observed in the presence of 10 mM of glutathione (GSH) at pH 7.4. Most importantly, in vivo experiments indicated that sequence-targeted astaxanthin nanoparticles could markedly alleviate inflammation by moderating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. What's more, the composition of gut microbiota and the production of short chain fatty acid were also improved upon the uptake of sequence-targeted astaxanthin nanoparticles. Our results suggested this novel astaxanthin nanoparticles, which showed sequence-targeted ability and reduction response feature, could be exploited as a promising strategy for effective UC treatment.