During recent years, our research group at CEBAS within the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has discovered that the interaction between broccoli membranes and human membranes is possible. This opens up the possibility of using broccoli membranes as nanocarriers, enhancing the effectiveness of drugs and reducing their side effects. These findings pave the way for the design of therapies for the treatment of various diseases. Until now, it was believed that due to the different compositions of plant and human membranes, interaction was not possible, but we have demonstrated that interaction is indeed possible, and they can bind.
Understanding what nanocarriers are can be challenging without a notion of the nano-world. Nano (derived from the Greek “nanno,” meaning small) is simply a prefix indicating a unit of measurement (1 nanometer, 10-9 m, i.e., a million times smaller than 1 millimeter). In essence, nanoscience studies the properties of objects and phenomena on the nanoscale, and nanotechnology deals with the “controlled” manipulation and production of systems at this scale. This is precisely the scale where life begins.
In our research, we have shown that nanovesicles or nano-spheres made from broccoli plant membranes interact with human keratinocytes, which are the predominant cells in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. We have also observed this interaction with melanocytes, which are cancer cells of the skin.
Through physiological, biochemical, and confocal microscopy techniques, we have investigated that broccoli membrane nanospheres can penetrate the skin and fuse with cell membranes to release their contents. These nanosystems, obtained from broccoli leaves, could be employed in targeted therapies based on plant membrane nanotechnologies. The advantage they offer is that they are natural and do not contain factors that could alter abnormal cell growth.
Dr. Micaela Carvajal Alcaraz
Research Professor at CSIC
