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Oral Delivery (Focus Group – OrD)

Enzyme and fluorophore pre-functionalized chitosan enables robust biocatalytic nanobots

Bruna Costa – Researcher, i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Joana Gomes – Researcher, i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Ana Magalhães – Researcher, i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Celso Reis – Researcher and Professor, i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Maria Pintado – Researcher and Professor, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia; Ezequiel Coscueta – Researcher, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia
Introduction:

Enzyme-powered nanobots reported in the literature frequently rely on architecturally complex designs, multistep fabrication workflows, or inorganic and hybrid components, which are widely recognized as limiting reproducibility and translational applicability1,2. For gastrointestinal (GI) health applications, these limitations highlight the need for chemically rational, methodologically simple strategies that preserve enzymatic functionality while enabling controlled nanoscale organization under constraints relevant to oral administration and colonic delivery in inflammatory intestinal environments.

Learning Objectives:

  • Pre-functionalizing chitosan allows enzyme nanobot fabrication without post-loading or complex structures.
  • A simple ionic gelation strategy enables assembling catalytically active nanobots with controlled properties.
  • Role of external alginate layer in shielding chitosan nanobots for oral, GI, and colonic delivery.