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Mestre Viegas, Cláudia Sofia

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  • An insight on lipid nanoparticles for therapeutic proteins delivery
    Publication . Viegas, Cláudia; Seck, Fatumata; Fonte, Pedro
    Therapeutic proteins are well-tolerated bioactive compounds used in different therapies, due to its high speci-ficity and biopotency. Nevertheless, they may also present some physicochemical instability, leading to loss of bioactivity hampering treatments. This can be avoided by its loading into lipid nanoparticles, which are biocompatible and biodegradable carriers. The use of lipids nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic proteins over-comes different challenges, allowing its administration by all delivery routes. Thus, therapeutic proteins may be loaded into liposomes, the first developed lipid-based nanocarriers composed of phospholipid bilayers, solid lipid nanoparticles composed of a solid lipid matrix, or nanostructured lipid carriers made of a blend of liquid and solid lipid as matrix. The latter are currently marking the trend in lipid nanocarriers due to its high loading capacity, good stability upon storage and better sustained release pattern. Production methods must focus both on attaining the desired nanocarrier features, and maintenance of therapeutic proteins structure and bioactivity. This review aims to make an insight overview on the application of lipid nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic proteins, showing its potential in different therapies. A special focus is given to the production techniques to obtain therapeutic proteins-loaded lipid nanoparticles.
  • Lipid-based carriers for food ingredients delivery
    Publication . Barroso, Livia; Viegas, Cláudia; Vieira, Joao; Ferreira-Pego, Cintia; Costa, Joyce; Fonte, Pedro
    The encapsulation in the food industry has gained relevant importance, mainly due to its contribution to solve food problems by reducing the loss of nutrients, prolong the shelf-life, and improve food quality and safety. The lipid-based delivery systems as microemulsions, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers are widely used to deliver food ingredients due to their ability to protect and deliver it, enhancing its functionality and bioavailability. Despite the benefits on delivering food ingredients the toxicity profile of such carriers is usually neglected. The aim of this review is to provide a detailed overview on the application of lipid-based carriers to deliver food ingredients. Herein, the encapsulation advantages and disadvantages, and microencapsulation techniques used to obtain lipid-based carriers are discussed. More importantly, the different types of lipid-based carriers used for food ingredients delivery are thoroughly scrutinized, as well as their application in foods and possible toxicity concerns.