The publications of the members of Eng4Life.
2026
Lamberti, Gaetano; De Piano, Raffaella; Caccavo, Diego; Guarino, Sara; Bosio, Lorenzo; Greco, Dante; Cabassi, Clotilde Silvia; Mezzasalma, Nicol; Spadini, Costanza; Righi, Federico; Simoni, Marica; Bosi, Susanna; Barba, Anna Angela
Fabrication and Characterization of Nerolidol-Based Invasomes: Loading, Stability and Antimicrobial Applications Journal Article
In: Pharmaceutics , vol. 18, iss. 4, 2026.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: antimicrobic activity, Invasomes, nanoliposomes, Nerolidol, simil-microfluidic technology
@article{Lamberti2026,
title = {Fabrication and Characterization of Nerolidol-Based Invasomes: Loading, Stability and Antimicrobial Applications},
author = {Gaetano Lamberti and De Piano, Raffaella and Diego Caccavo and Sara Guarino and Lorenzo Bosio and Dante Greco and Clotilde Silvia Cabassi and Nicol Mezzasalma and Costanza Spadini and Federico Righi and Marica Simoni and Susanna Bosi and Anna Angela Barba},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/18/4/410/pdf?version=1774869875},
doi = {10.3390/pharmaceutics18040410},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-03-27},
urldate = {2026-03-27},
journal = { Pharmaceutics },
volume = {18},
issue = {4},
abstract = {Nerolidol (NER) is a sesquiterpene alcohol with recognized antimicrobial potential, whose applications as a pure substance are limited by hydrophobicity, instability, and cytotoxicity. Invasomes, i.e., liposomes with terpene ingredients, offer a strategy to improve their delivery; however, the NER loading limits compatible with vesicle integrity are still unclear. Here, Nerolidol-loaded invasomes were produced using a controlled simil-microfluidic coaxial injection process. Methods and Results: As a preliminary step, unloaded liposomes were fabricated to consolidate operating conditions and ensure their reproducible colloidal properties. Thereafter, formulations with progressively decreasing nominal NER loads were investigated to evaluate vesicle size, polydispersity, ζ-potential, encapsulation efficiency, effective loading, and stability. High nominal loads promoted turbidity, size increase (by agglomeration coalescence phenomena), and structural instability, whereas formulations containing approximately 1–2% NER achieved nearly complete encapsulation, Z-average ≈ 300 nm, |ζ| > 30 mV, and satisfactory physical stability. Antimicrobial and cytotoxic profiles of representative formulations, previously evaluated in an independent study are here reported only to contextualize the practical relevance of the optimized systems, while the present work primarily focuses on process–formulation aspects and loading/stability limitations. Conclusions: Overall, the present work identifies a realistic loading window for Nerolidol invasomes and highlights the suitability of the simil-microfluidic approach to obtain scalable, well-controlled formulations, providing a rational basis for their future biological assessment. Nerolidol invasome systems indeed can be considered a promising, versatile platform for antimicrobial applications, including prospective use in animal feed.},
keywords = {antimicrobic activity, Invasomes, nanoliposomes, Nerolidol, simil-microfluidic technology},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Nerolidol (NER) is a sesquiterpene alcohol with recognized antimicrobial potential, whose applications as a pure substance are limited by hydrophobicity, instability, and cytotoxicity. Invasomes, i.e., liposomes with terpene ingredients, offer a strategy to improve their delivery; however, the NER loading limits compatible with vesicle integrity are still unclear. Here, Nerolidol-loaded invasomes were produced using a controlled simil-microfluidic coaxial injection process. Methods and Results: As a preliminary step, unloaded liposomes were fabricated to consolidate operating conditions and ensure their reproducible colloidal properties. Thereafter, formulations with progressively decreasing nominal NER loads were investigated to evaluate vesicle size, polydispersity, ζ-potential, encapsulation efficiency, effective loading, and stability. High nominal loads promoted turbidity, size increase (by agglomeration coalescence phenomena), and structural instability, whereas formulations containing approximately 1–2% NER achieved nearly complete encapsulation, Z-average ≈ 300 nm, |ζ| > 30 mV, and satisfactory physical stability. Antimicrobial and cytotoxic profiles of representative formulations, previously evaluated in an independent study are here reported only to contextualize the practical relevance of the optimized systems, while the present work primarily focuses on process–formulation aspects and loading/stability limitations. Conclusions: Overall, the present work identifies a realistic loading window for Nerolidol invasomes and highlights the suitability of the simil-microfluidic approach to obtain scalable, well-controlled formulations, providing a rational basis for their future biological assessment. Nerolidol invasome systems indeed can be considered a promising, versatile platform for antimicrobial applications, including prospective use in animal feed.
2023
De Piano, Raffaella; Caccavo, Diego; Lamberti, Gaetano; Remaut, Katrien; Seynaeve, Hanne; Barba, Anna Angela
A New Productive Approach and Formulative Optimization for Curcumin Nanoliposomal Delivery Systems Journal Article
In: Pharmaceutics, vol. 15, iss. 3, no. 959, 2023, ISSN: 19994923.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: anticancer, antioxidant activity, curcumin, nanoliposomes, nanotechnologies, nutraceuticals, simil-microfluidic technology
@article{Piano}2023b,
title = {A New Productive Approach and Formulative Optimization for Curcumin Nanoliposomal Delivery Systems},
author = {De Piano, Raffaella and Diego Caccavo and Gaetano Lamberti and Katrien Remaut and Hanne Seynaeve and Anna Angela Barba},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85151381874&doi=10.3390%2fpharmaceutics15030959&partnerID=40&md5=fceef78253390aceb67f23b8ff583eb8},
doi = {10.3390/pharmaceutics15030959},
issn = {19994923},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-03-16},
urldate = {2023-03-16},
journal = {Pharmaceutics},
volume = {15},
number = {959},
issue = {3},
abstract = {The use of natural resources and the enhancing of technologies are outlining the strategies of modern scientific-technological research for sustainable health products manufacturing. In this context, the novel simil-microfluidic technology, a mild production methodology, is exploited to produce liposomal curcumin as potential powerful dosage system for cancer therapies and for nutraceutical purposes. Through simil-microfluidic technology, based on interdiffusion phenomena of a lipid-ethanol phase in an aqueous flow, massive productions of liposomes at nanometric scale can be obtained. In this work, studies on liposomal production with useful curcumin loads were performed. In particular, process issues (curcumin aggregations) were elucidated and formulation optimization for curcumin load was performed. The main achieved result has been the definition of operative conditions for nanoliposomal curcumin production with interesting loads and encapsulation efficiencies.},
keywords = {anticancer, antioxidant activity, curcumin, nanoliposomes, nanotechnologies, nutraceuticals, simil-microfluidic technology},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The use of natural resources and the enhancing of technologies are outlining the strategies of modern scientific-technological research for sustainable health products manufacturing. In this context, the novel simil-microfluidic technology, a mild production methodology, is exploited to produce liposomal curcumin as potential powerful dosage system for cancer therapies and for nutraceutical purposes. Through simil-microfluidic technology, based on interdiffusion phenomena of a lipid-ethanol phase in an aqueous flow, massive productions of liposomes at nanometric scale can be obtained. In this work, studies on liposomal production with useful curcumin loads were performed. In particular, process issues (curcumin aggregations) were elucidated and formulation optimization for curcumin load was performed. The main achieved result has been the definition of operative conditions for nanoliposomal curcumin production with interesting loads and encapsulation efficiencies.
2020
Bochicchio, Sabrina; Dalmoro, Annalisa; Simone, Veronica De; Bertoncin, Paolo; Lamberti, Gaetano; Barba, Anna Angela
Simil-Microfluidic Nanotechnology in Manufacturing of Liposomes as Hydrophobic Antioxidants Skin Release Systems Journal Article
In: Cosmetics, vol. 7, no. 22, pp. 13, 2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: antioxidants, cosmeceutics, nanoliposomes, simil-microfluidic technology, transdermal delivery
@article{Bochicchio2020,
title = {Simil-Microfluidic Nanotechnology in Manufacturing of Liposomes as Hydrophobic Antioxidants Skin Release Systems},
author = {Sabrina Bochicchio and Annalisa Dalmoro and Veronica De Simone and Paolo Bertoncin and Gaetano Lamberti and Anna Angela Barba},
editor = {MDPI},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/7/2/22/pdf},
doi = {10.3390/cosmetics7020022},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-04-03},
journal = {Cosmetics},
volume = {7},
number = {22},
pages = {13},
abstract = {Novel nanotechnologies represent the most attractive and innovative tools to date exploited by cosmetic companies to improve the effectiveness of their formulations. In this context, nanoliposomes have had a great impact in topical preparations and dermocosmetics, allowing the transcutaneous penetration and absorption of several active ingredients and improving the stability of sensitive molecules. Despite the recent boom of this class of delivery systems, their industrial production is still limited by the lack of easily scalable production techniques. In this work, nanoliposomes for the topical administration of vitamin D3, K2, E, and curcumin, molecules with high antioxidant and skin curative properties but unstable and poorly absorbable, were produced through a novel simil-microfluidic technique. The developed high-yield semi continuous method is proposed as an alternative to face the problems linked with low productive conventional methods in order to produce antioxidant formulations with improved features. The novel technique has allowed to obtain a massive production of stable antioxidant vesicles of an 84–145 nm size range, negatively charged, and characterized by high loads and encapsulation efficiencies. The obtained products as well as the developed high-performance technology make the achieved formulations very interesting for potential topical applications in the cosmetics/cosmeceutical field. },
keywords = {antioxidants, cosmeceutics, nanoliposomes, simil-microfluidic technology, transdermal delivery},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Novel nanotechnologies represent the most attractive and innovative tools to date exploited by cosmetic companies to improve the effectiveness of their formulations. In this context, nanoliposomes have had a great impact in topical preparations and dermocosmetics, allowing the transcutaneous penetration and absorption of several active ingredients and improving the stability of sensitive molecules. Despite the recent boom of this class of delivery systems, their industrial production is still limited by the lack of easily scalable production techniques. In this work, nanoliposomes for the topical administration of vitamin D3, K2, E, and curcumin, molecules with high antioxidant and skin curative properties but unstable and poorly absorbable, were produced through a novel simil-microfluidic technique. The developed high-yield semi continuous method is proposed as an alternative to face the problems linked with low productive conventional methods in order to produce antioxidant formulations with improved features. The novel technique has allowed to obtain a massive production of stable antioxidant vesicles of an 84–145 nm size range, negatively charged, and characterized by high loads and encapsulation efficiencies. The obtained products as well as the developed high-performance technology make the achieved formulations very interesting for potential topical applications in the cosmetics/cosmeceutical field.