Receptor mediated targeting of lectin conjugated gliadin nanoparticles in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori.

The present work describes the potential for using lectin-conjugated gliadin nanoparticles as a means of locating and anchoring a drug delivery system on the carbohydrate receptors of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Gliadin nanoparticles (GNP) bearing acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) were prepared by a desolvation method. Ulex Europaeus Agglutinin I (UEA I) and Conconavalin A (Con A) lectins were bound to GNP formulations by the two-stage carbodiimide coupling technique. Lectin-agglutination assay was performed to evaluate the binding efficacy of lectin formulations to carbohydrate receptors of H. pylori strains. Strong agglutination patterns were observed with mannose-specific Con A-GNP and alpha(L)-fucose specific UEA-GNP formulations. In situ adherence assay was performed to examine the efficacy of lectin formulations to inhibit the binding of H. pylori strains with human stomach cells. Lectin formulations completely inhibited the H. pylori binding. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of the formulations was evaluated by percent growth inhibition studies (%GI) by using isolated H. pylori strain. The inhibitory efficacy of UEA-GNP and Con A-GNP was approximately two-fold higher compared to GNP. These lectin-conjugated gliadin nanoparticles are found to be potential candidate for targeted drug delivery and are anticipated to be useful in the treatment of H. pylori.