Live microbes such as lactobacilli have long been used as probiotic supplements and, more recently, have been explored as live biotherapeutic products with the potential to treat a range of conditions. Among these microbes is a category of anaerobes that possess therapeutic potential while exhibiting unique oxygen sensitivity and thus requiring careful considerations in the formulation and storage processes. Existing microbial formulation development has focused on facultative anaerobes with natural oxygen tolerance; a few strategies have been reported for anaerobes with demonstrated oxygen intolerance, warranting novel approaches toward addressing the challenges for these oxygen-sensitive anaerobes. Here, we develop a polymeric encapsulation system for the formulation and storage of Bifidobacterium adolescentis (B. adolescentis), a model anaerobe that loses viability in aerobic incubation at 37 °C within 1 day. We discover that this strain remains viable under aerobic conditions for 14 days at 4 °C, enabling formulation development such as solution casting and air drying in an aerobic environment. Next, through a systematic selection of polymer encapsulants and excipients, we show that encapsulation with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) acts as an oxygen barrier and facilitates long-term storage of B. adolescentis, which is partially attributed to reduced generation of reactive oxygen species. Lastly, PVA-based formulations can produce oral capsule-loaded films and edible gummy bears, demonstrating its compatibility with both pharmaceutical and food dosage forms.

中文翻译：

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通过聚合物封装增强厌氧菌的储存

乳酸杆菌等活微生物长期以来一直被用作益生菌补充剂，最近被探索为具有治疗一系列疾病潜力的活生物治疗产品。在这些微生物中，有一类厌氧菌具有治疗潜力，同时表现出独特的氧敏感性，因此在配制和储存过程中需要仔细考虑。现有的微生物制剂开发集中于具有天然耐氧性的兼性厌氧菌；已经报道了一些针对氧不耐受的厌氧菌的策略，需要新的方法来应对这些氧敏感厌氧菌的挑战。在这里，我们开发了一种聚合物封装系统，用于青春双歧杆菌的配制和储存( B.teenis )，一种厌氧模式模型，在 37 °C 的有氧培养中 1 天内失去活力。我们发现这种菌株在 4 °C 的有氧条件下可存活 14 天，从而能够在有氧环境中进行溶液浇铸和空气干燥等配方开发。接下来，通过对聚合物包封剂和赋形剂的系统选择，我们表明用聚乙烯醇 (PVA) 包封可起到氧气屏障的作用，并有助于B.氧物种。最后，基于 PVA 的配方可以生产口服胶囊薄膜和可食用的小熊软糖，证明了它与药物和食品剂型的相容性。