5-Fluorouracil-Encapsulated Films Using Exopolysaccharides from a Thermophilic Bacterium Geobacillus sp. WSUCF1 for Topical Drug Delivery

Abstract

Bacteria are capable of producing a specific type of biopolymer, termed exopolysaccharides (EPSs). EPSs from thermophile Geobacillus sp. strain WSUCF1 specifically can be assembled using cost-effective lignocellulosic biomass as the primary carbon substrate in lieu of traditional sugars. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is an FDA-approved, versatile chemotherapeutic that has yielded high efficacy against colon, rectum, and breast cancers. The present study investigates the feasibility of a 5% 5-fluorouracil film using thermophilic exopolysaccharides as the foundation in conjunction with a simple self-forming method. The drug-loaded film formulation was seen to be highly effective against A375 human malignant melanoma at its current concentration with viability of A375 dropping to 12% after six hours of treatment. A drug release profile revealed a slight burst release before it settled into an extended and maintained release of 5-FU. These initial findings provide evidence for the versatility of thermophilic exopolysaccharides produced from lignocellulosic biomass to act as a chemotherapeutic-delivering device and expand the overall applications of extremophilic EPSs.

Editorial for the Special Issue on Biomaterials, Biodevices and Tissue Engineering

“…Additionally, the drug release profile exhibited an initial burst release followed by an extended and sustained release of 5-FU. These findings highlight the potential of thermophilic EPSs from lignocellulosic biomass as a versatile platform for delivering chemotherapy drugs and expanding the scope of extremophilic EPS applications [8].…”

“…Laubach et al [8] explores the potential of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) derived from the thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus sp. strain WSUCF1, synthesized using cost-effective lignocellulosic biomass, as a foundation for creating 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-encapsulated films for topical drug delivery.…”