Spontaneous self-assembly of mangiferin in an aqueous medium into vesicles for anticancer drug encapsulation and antibacterial applications

Abstract

Natural products exhibiting spontaneous vesicular self-assembly are rare. Mangiferin, a natural xanthonoid, was isolated from the rhizome of the fern Davallia solida. Herein, we demonstrate that mangiferin spontaneously self-assembles in aqueous and organic-aqueous binary solutions, forming stable spherical vesicles. The morphology of these self-assemblies was confirmed using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies. The critical vesicular concentrations determined in DMSO–water (2 : 1 v/v and 1 : 1 v/v) and water alone using pyrene as a fluorescence probe were 60 µM, 50 µM and 30 µM, respectively. The resulting mangiferin vesicles were successfully utilized for the encapsulation of various molecules, including the anticancer drugs doxorubicin and curcumin. The therapeutic potential of the system was demonstrated by two applications. First, the mangiferin vesicles successfully encapsulated doxorubicin, confirming their role as a prospective drug delivery system. Second, the curcumin-loaded mangiferin vesicles exhibited significantly enhanced antibacterial activities against both the Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria compared with free curcumin dissolved in a DMSO–water system. Thus, this study introduces a natural product-derived vesicular nanocarrier based on the spontaneous self-assembly of mangiferin, highlighting its significant potential as a biologically and medicinally important carrier system for dual-drug delivery and anti-infective applications.