Publications

@article{Mezzasalma2025,

title = {Evaluation of the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of nerolidol encapsulated in a nanoliposome system},

author = {Nicol\`{o} Mezzasalma and Costanza Spadini and Federico Righi and Marica Simoni and Gaetano Lamberti and Anna Angela Barba and Dante Greco and Alessia Merelli and Lorenzo Bosio and Alessandro Cupola and Emiliana Schiano and Simone Taddei and Clotilde Silvia Cabassi },

editor = {James Wabwire Oguttu},

url = {https://public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1641746/pdf},

doi = {10.3389/fvets.2025.1641746},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-10-27},

journal = {Sec. Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology},

volume = {12/2025},

abstract = {Plant-derived compounds have emerged as potential alternatives to traditional antimicrobials in livestock; however, their application may be limited by degradation in the gastrointestinal tract. Nanoliposome encapsulation offers a strategy to overcome these limitations. In this study, we investigated the effects of nerolidol encapsulation, by evaluating the antimicrobial activity of free-nerolidol (NER), nerolidol-loaded nanoliposomes (LN), and unloaded nanoliposomes (UN) (Lipobox™) using a Time-Kill assay. The cytotoxicity of these formulations was assessed through MTT assay on swine and bovine cell lines. NER was effective against MRSA, Enterococcus faecium, and Lactobacillus acidophilus at all time points, at concentrations ≥62.5, ≥15.63 and ≥1,000 μg/ml, respectively, but was ineffective against Gram-negative bacteria Conversely, LN and UN were effective against all bacteria, showing the best activity at 2,500 μg/ml. LN showed the greatest activity against MRSA up to 6 h while UN on E. faecium up to 4 h (P \< 0.05). No difference between LN and UN on Salmonella Typhimurium up to 24 h and on E. coli up to 6 h at this concentration (P \> 0.05) was observed. For L. acidophilus, both LN and UN were effective up to 6 h even at the lowest concentration (9.77 μg/ml). NER showed high cytotoxicity on MDBK and IPEC-J2 cells at all doses; while LN and UN were low-toxic at concentrations ≤ 1,250 μg/ml or ≤ 625 μg/ml, respectively. These results suggest that nanoliposomes themselves exhibit dose-dependent antimicrobial and cytotoxicity activity; however, when NER is encapsulated its spectrum of activity its enhanced.},

keywords = {alternative antimicrobials, animal nutrion, liposome, livestock, plantfeedadditives, time-killassay},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Caccavo2025,

title = {Optimization of Nanoliposomes Production using a Coaxial Jet Mixer: a Response Surface Modeling Approach},

author = {Diego Caccavo and Raffaella {De Piano} and Luca Broegg and Anna Angela Barba and Gaetano Lamberti },

url = {https://www.cetjournal.it/cet/25/118/050.pdf},

doi = {10.3303/CET25118050},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-08-11},

urldate = {2025-08-11},

journal = {Chemical Engineering Transaction},

volume = {118},

abstract = {Liposomes are vesicular structures capable of encapsulating and delivering active pharmaceutical ingredients or other compounds. A thorough understanding of their physical properties is essential for optimizing their application potential. In this work, liposomes were produced using ethanol, with phosphatidylcholine from soy lecithin processed via a coaxial jet mixer. The study investigated the effect of key operating parameters\textemdashethanol flow rate, water flow rate, and phosphatidylcholine concentration\textemdashon four experimental responses: Z-Average, Polydispersity Index (PDI), Main Intensity Peak Size, and Zeta Potential. A Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was employed to optimize the experimental plan, minimizing the number of trials compared to a full factorial design. Measurements performed using a Zetasizer enabled the development of predictive models for the selected responses. Modeling results, based on a univariate analysis and a top-down approach, showed that within the explored parameter range, Z-Average was primarily influenced by the inner flow rate and phosphatidylcholine concentration. These parameters also significantly affected the Zeta Potential, while water flow rate had the least impact on the responses. To achieve smaller liposomes, the results indicate the need for low phosphatidylcholine concentrations combined with high inner flow rates.},

keywords = {liposome, liposomes, nanoliposome, nanoliposomes delivery systems},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Bochicchio2017b,

title = {On the design of tailored liposomes for KRX29 peptide delivery },

author = {Sabrina Bochicchio and Marina Sala and Antonia Spensiero and Maria Carmina Scala and Isabel Gomez-Monterrey and Gaetano Lamberti and Anna Angela Barba },

url = {http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2017/NJ/C7NJ03115G},

doi = { 10.1039/C7NJ03115G},

issn = {1144-0546},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-12-01},

journal = {New Journal of Chemistry},

volume = {41},

number = {19},

pages = {11280-11290},

abstract = {The high interest in therapeutic peptides, due to the specificity of their mechanisms of action, has stimulated the research of new delivery strategies to overcome bioavailability problems concerning the use of peptides in their naked form. In particular, in this study, a novel small cyclic peptide, the KRX29, with a potential therapeutic effect on Heart Failure (HF) pathology, was encapsulated into large and unilamellar small vesicles (LVs, SUVs) by the thin film-hydration method followed by ultrasound assisted size reduction processes, generating loaded liposomes with nanometric sizes. Loaded and unloaded liposomes were produced exploring three different formulations by changing the charge ratio (-/+) between the anionic phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and the cationic KRX29 peptide. LVs and SUVs were designed using a 1:1, 7:1 and 13:1 (-/+) PG/KRX29 charge ratio and, for each formulation, the charge effect on liposomes morphology, size and zeta potential were analyzed together with peptide encapsulation performance, load, recovery efficiencies and stability through an analytical HPLC protocol purposely developed. Best results in terms of encapsulation in nanoliposomal formulation for KRX29 delivery, were achieved using a 13:1 (-/+) charge ratio (99 % in 35 nm SUVs). The influence of PG/KRX29 charge ratio on the recovery efficiencies was also investigated obtaining that the maximal peptide recovery from liposomes (81 \textendash 94 %) was achieved by using a 1:1 (-/+) charge ratio formulation and pure ethanol as solvent for the extraction.},

keywords = {liposome, peptide},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2015,

title = {Novel Lipid and Polymeric Materials As Delivery Systems for Nucleic Acid Based Drugs.},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Gaetano Lamberti and Carla Sardo and Barbara Dapas and Michela Abrami and Mario Grassi and Rossella Farra and F Tonon and Giancarlo Forte and F Musiani and M Licciardi and G Pozzato and F Zanconati and Bruna Scaggiante and Gabriele Grassi and Gennara Cavallaro},

url = {http://benthamscience.com/journals/current-drug-metabolism/article/133927/},

doi = {10.2174/1389200216666150812142557},

issn = {1389-2002},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-01-01},

journal = {Current drug metabolism},

volume = {16},

number = {6},

pages = {427-452},

abstract = {Nucleic acid based drugs (NADBs) are short DNA/RNA molecules that include among others, antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, small interfering RNAs and micro-interfering RNAs. Despite the different mechanisms of actions, NABDs have the ability to combat the effects of pathological gene expression in many experimental systems. Thus, nowadays, NABDs are considered to have a great therapeutic potential, possibly superior to that of available drugs. Unfortunately, however, the lack of effective delivery systems limits the practical use of NABDs. Due to their hydrophilic nature, NABDs cannot efficiently cross cellular membrane; in addition, they are subjected to fast degradation by cellular and extracellular nucleases. Together these aspects make the delivery of NABDs as naked molecules almost un-effective. To optimize NABD delivery, several solutions have been investigated. From the first attempts described in the beginning of the 1980s, a burst in the number of published papers occurred in the beginning of 1990s reaching a peak in 2012-13. The extensive amount of work performed so far clearly witnesses the interest of the scientific community in this topic. In the present review, we will concentrate on the description of the most interesting advances in the field. Particular emphasis will be put on polymeric and lipid materials used alone or in combination with a promising delivery strategy based on the use of carbon nanotubes. The data presented suggest that, although further improvements are required, we are not far from the identification of effective delivery systems for NABDs thus making the clinical use of these molecules closer to reality.},

keywords = {Biopolymer, Drug Delivery Systems, liposome, Micro and Nano Vectors, nucleic acid based drugs},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Bochicchio2014,

title = {Liposomes as siRNA Delivery Vectors},

author = {Sabrina Bochicchio and Annalisa Dalmoro and Anna Angela Barba and Gabriele Grassi and Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://www.eurekaselect.com/128256/article},

doi = {10.2174/1389200216666150206124913},

issn = {1389-2002},

year  = {2014},

date = {2014-01-01},

journal = {Current drug metabolism},

volume = {15},

number = {9},

pages = {882--892},

publisher = {Bentham Science Publishers},

abstract = {Nucleic Acid Based Drugs (NABDs) constitute a class of promising and powerful therapeutic new agents with limited side effects, potentially useable against a wide range of diseases, including cancer. Among them, the short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), represent very effective molecules. Despite their in vitro efficacy, the major drawback that limits siRNAs usage consists in a difficult delivery due to their very low stability in physiological fluids, and to their limited membrane-permeability through physiological barriers. On the other hand, the liposomes (lipid bilayers closed in vesicles of various sizes) represent interesting drug delivery systems (DDSs) which can be tailored in order to get the best performance in terms of load, vesicle size and transfection yield. In this work, the current state of study in these two fields, and the connections between them, are briefly summarized.},

keywords = {Drug Delivery Systems, liposome, Micro and Nano Vectors, siRNA},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}