Targeting macrophages and their recruitment in the oral cavity using swellable (+) alpha tocopheryl phosphate nanostructures

The phosphorylation of (+) alpha tocopherol produces adhesive nanostructures that interact with oral biofilms to restrict their growth. The aim of this work was to understand if these adhesive (+) alpha tocopheryl phosphate (α-TP) nanostructures could also control macrophage responses to the presence of oral bacteria. The (+) α-TP planar bilayer fragments (175 nm ± 21 nm) formed in a Trizma®/ethanol vehicle swelled when exposed to the cell lines (maximum stabilized size = 29 μm). The swelled (+) α-TP aggregates showed selective toxicity towards THP-1 macrophages (LD50 = 304 μM) compared to human gingival fibroblasts (HGF-1 cells; LD50 > 5 mM), and they inhibited heat killed bacteria stimulated MCP-1 production in both macrophages (control 57.3 ± 18.1 pg/mL vs (+) α-TP 6.5 ± 3.2 pg/mL) and HGF-1 cells (control 673.5 ± 133 pg/mL vs (+) α-TP - 463.9 ± 68.9 pg/mL).