Tejas Saravanan
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Tejas Saravanan has a total of 6 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Franz Georg Zingl
Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
1 shared publication - Hassan A. Khalil
Laboratory of Adaptive and Regenerative Biology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
1 shared publication - Jennifer Megan Pan
Adam Studniarek, MD, Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Hackensack Meridian Health, Edison, New Jersey
1 shared publication - Matthew K. Waldor
Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
1 shared publication - Steven J. Mentzer
Laboratory of Adaptive and Regenerative Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
1 shared publication - Yifan Zheng
Laboratory of Adaptive and Regenerative Biology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Pectin Hydrogels as Structural Platform for Antibacterial Drug Delivery
Hydrogels are hydrophilic 3-dimensional networks characterized by the retention of a large amount of water. Because of their water component, hydrogels are a promising method for targeted drug delivery. The water component, or “free volume”, is a potential vehicle for protein drugs. A particularly intriguing hydrogel is pectin. In addition to a generous free volume, pectin has structural characteristics that facilitate hydrogel binding to the glycocalyceal surface of visceral organs. To test drug function and pectin integrity after loading, we compared pectin films from four distinct plant sources: lemon, potato, soybean, and sugar beet. The pectin films were tested for their micromechanical properties and intrinsic antibacterial activity. Lemon pectin films demonstrated the greatest cohesion at 30% water content. Moreover, modest growth inhibition was observed with lemon pectin (p < 0.05). No effective inhibition was observed with soybean, potato, or sugar beet films (p > 0.05). In contrast, lemon pectin films embedded with carbenicillin, chloramphenicol, or kanamycin demonstrated significant bacterial growth inhibition (p < 0.05). The antibacterial activity was similar when the antibiotics were embedded in inert filter disks or pectin disks (p > 0.05). We conclude that lemon pectin films represent a promising structural platform for antibacterial drug delivery.
Open AccessPectin Hydrogels as Structural Platform for Antibacterial Drug Delivery
Hydrogels are hydrophilic 3-dimensional networks characterized by the retention of a large amount of water. Because of their water component, hydrogels are a promising method for targeted drug delivery. The water component, or “free volume”, is a potential vehicle for protein drugs. A particularly intriguing hydrogel is pectin. In addition to a generous free volume, pectin has structural characteristics that facilitate hydrogel binding to the glycocalyceal surface of visceral organs. To test drug function and pectin integrity after loading, we compared pectin films from four distinct plant sources: lemon, potato, soybean, and sugar beet. The pectin films were tested for their micromechanical properties and intrinsic antibacterial activity. Lemon pectin films demonstrated the greatest cohesion at 30% water content. Moreover, modest growth inhibition was observed with lemon pectin (p < 0.05). No effective inhibition was observed with soybean, potato, or sugar beet films (p > 0.05). In contrast, lemon pectin films embedded with carbenicillin, chloramphenicol, or kanamycin demonstrated significant bacterial growth inhibition (p < 0.05). The antibacterial activity was similar when the antibiotics were embedded in inert filter disks or pectin disks (p > 0.05). We conclude that lemon pectin films represent a promising structural platform for antibacterial drug delivery.