Self-Assembled pH-Responsive Metal-Organic Frameworks for Enhancing the Encapsulation and Anti-Oxidation and Melanogenesis Inhibition Activities of Glabridin

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 27; no. 12; p. 3908
• Main Authors: Chen, Liang, Liu, Zexun, Zhao, Xinying, Liu, Linying, Xin, Xiulan, Liang, Hao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 18-06-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adsorption; anti-oxidation; Antioxidants; Aqueous solutions; Autophagy; Cancer; Controlled release; Cosmetics; Cosmetics industry; Disintegration; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drugs; Efficiency; Encapsulation; glabridin; Metabolism; Metal ions; metal organic frameworks (MOFs); Metal-organic frameworks; Morphology; Oxidants; Oxidation; Oxidizing agents; pH-controlled release; Pore size; Scanning electron microscopy; Self-assembly
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules27123908

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are formed by self-assembly of metal ions and organic ligands. A special type of MOF called ZIF-8, which is formed by self-assembly of zinc ions and 2-methylimidazole, shows excellent stability in aqueous solutions and disintegrates under acidic conditions. These properties make ZIF-8 a suitable carrier material for pH-stimulated drug delivery systems. Glabridin is an isoflavane compound that is widely present in the roots of licorice. Because of its outstanding skin whitening properties, glabridin is widely used as a whitener in the cosmetics industry. In this study, ZIF-8 was employed to encapsulate glabridin. Glabridin-loaded ZIF-8 was successfully prepared with a drug encapsulation efficiency of 98.67%. The prepared sample showed a fusiform or cruciate flower-like structure, and its size was about 3 μm. ZIF-8 enabled pH-controlled release of glabridin. Moreover, ZIF-8 encapsulation significantly enhanced the intracellular anti-oxidant activity and melanogenesis inhibitory activity of glabridin. This study provides a new approach that shows great potential to improve the biological application of glabridin.