Cholesterol-modified lignin: A new avenue for green nanoparticles, meltable materials, and drug delivery

Zhaleh Pourmoazzen; Hasan Sadeghifar; Guihua Yang; Lucian Lucia

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2019.110685

Cholesterol-modified lignin: A new avenue for green nanoparticles, meltable materials, and drug delivery

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2020 Feb:186:110685. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2019.110685. Epub 2019 Nov 28.

Authors

Zhaleh Pourmoazzen¹, Hasan Sadeghifar², Guihua Yang³, Lucian Lucia⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Shandong Province, Jinan, 250353, PR China; Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA; Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
² Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA; Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA; Department of Wood and Paper Science, Islamic Azad University, P.O. Box 48161-19318, Sari Branch, Iran.
³ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Shandong Province, Jinan, 250353, PR China; Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Shandong Province, Jinan, 250353, PR China; Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA; Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA. Electronic address: lalucia@ncsu.edu.

PMID: 31812802
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2019.110685

Abstract

Two fractions of kraft lignin of low and high molecular weight were reacted with cholesteryl chloroformate (Chol.Cl) to produce a modified lignin that demonstrated very high hydrophobicity. Surprisingly, both fractions displayed discernible melting points as opposed to the starting lignin. The suspension in water also gave rise to nanoparticles that displayed sizes in the range of 200-500 nm that were shown to satisfactorily load and release folic acid, a representative hydrophobic molecule, within the context of drug delivery.

Keywords: Cholesterol; Drug delivery; Hydrophobic; Lignin; Nanoparticles.

MeSH terms

Cholesterol / chemistry*
Drug Delivery Systems*
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Lignin / chemistry*
Molecular Structure
Molecular Weight
Nanoparticles / chemistry*

Substances

Lignin
Cholesterol