Polysaccharides gums in drug delivery systems: A review

Recent advances in polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy: a comprehensive review

Cancer has a high rate of incidence and mortality throughout the world. Although several conventional approaches have been developed for the treatment of cancer, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and thermal therapy, they have remarkable disadvantages which result in inefficient treatment of cancer. For example, immunogenicity, prolonged treatment, non-specificity, metastasis and high cost of treatment, are considered as the major drawbacks of chemotherapy. Therefore, there is a fundamental requirement for the development of breakthrough technologies for cancer suppression. Polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) are the most reliable drug carriers for cancer therapy. Polysaccharides, as a kind of practical biomaterials, are divided into several types, including chitosan, alginates, dextran, hyaluronic acid, cyclodextrin, pectin, etc. Polysaccharides are extracted from different natural resources (like herbal, marine, microorganisms, etc.). The potential features of polysaccharides have made them reliable candidates for therapeutics delivery to cancer sites; the simple purification, ease of modification and functionalization, hydrophilicity, serum stability, appropriate drug loading capacity, biocompatibility, bioavailability, biodegradability and stimuli-responsive and sustained drug release manner are considerable aspects of these biopolymers. This review highlights the practical applications of polysaccharides-based DDSs in pharmaceutical science and cancer therapy.

Tragacanth gum hydrogels with cellulose nanocrystals: A study on optimizing properties and printability

This study investigates a novel all-polysaccharide hydrogel composed of tragacanth gum (TG) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), eliminating the need for toxic crosslinkers. Designed for potential tissue engineering applications, these hydrogels were fabricated using 3D printing and freeze-drying techniques to create scaffolds with interconnected macropores, facilitating nutrient transport. SEM images revealed that the hydrogels contained macropores with a diameter of 100-115 μm. Notably, increasing the CNC content within the TG matrix (30-50 %) resulted in a decrease in porosity from 83 % to 76 %, attributed to enhanced polymer-nanocrystal interactions that produced denser networks. Despite the reduced porosity, the hydrogels demonstrated high swelling ratios (890-1090 %) due to the high water binding capacity of the hydrogel. Mechanical testing showed that higher CNC concentrations significantly improved compressive strength (27.7-49.5 kPa) and toughness (362-707 kJ/m3), highlighting the enhanced mechanical properties of the hydrogels. Thermal analysis confirmed stability up to 400 °C and verified ionic crosslinking with CaCl₂. Additionally, hemolysis tests indicated minimal hemolytic activity, affirming the biocompatibility of the TG/CNC hydrogels. These findings highlight the potential of these hydrogels as advanced materials for 3D-printed scaffolds and injectable hydrogels, offering customizable porosity, superior mechanical strength, thermal stability, and biocompatibility.

Gum Arabic as a potential candidate in quorum quenching and treatment of periodontal diseases

Periodontal diseases are chronic inflammatory conditions influenced by bacterial biofilm formation and host immune responses, affecting millions worldwide. Traditional treatments like mechanical debridement and systemic antibiotics often face limitations, including biofilm resilience and antibiotic resistance. Gum Arabic (GA), a natural exudate from Acacia trees, presents a promising alternative with its anti-biofilm and anti-inflammatory properties. This review highlights the role of GA in periodontal therapy, particularly its ability to interfere with quorum sensing (QS) pathways, specifically the AI-2 signaling system used by key periodontal pathogens such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Fusobacterium nucleatum. By disrupting QS, GA inhibits biofilm formation, reduces bacterial virulence, and promotes a balanced oral microbiome. GA's prebiotic properties also encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria, enhancing the host's immune response while preserving the systemic microbiome. Clinical studies demonstrate GA's effectiveness as an adjunct in periodontal therapy, with significant reductions in plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, and bleeding. This highlights GA's potential as a natural therapeutic agent, offering an effective, antibiotic-sparing option in managing periodontal disease. However, further research is warranted to fully establish GA's role in comprehensive periodontal care and its long-term benefits.

Advances in chitosan-based blends as potential drug delivery systems: A review

During the last decades, the ever-increasing incidence of diseases has led to high rates of mortality throughout the world. On the other hand, the inability and deficiencies of conventional approaches (such as chemotherapy) in the suppression of diseases remain challenging issues. As a result, there is a fundamental requirement to develop novel, biocompatible, bioavailable, and practical nanomaterials to prevent the incidence and mortality of diseases. Chitosan (CS) derivatives and their blends are outstandingly employed as promising drug delivery systems for disease therapy. These biopolymers are indicated more efficient performance against diseases compared with conventional modalities. The CS blends possess improved physicochemical properties, ease of preparation, high affordability, etc. characteristics compared with other biopolymers and even pure CS which result in efficient thermal, mechanical, biochemical, and biomedical features. Also, these blends can be administrated through different routes without a long-term treatment period. Due to the mentioned properties, numerous formulations of CS blends are developed for pharmaceutical sciences to treat diseases. This review article highlights the progressions in the development of CS-based blends as potential drug delivery systems against diseases.

Granular hydrogels with tunable properties prepared from gum Arabic and protein microgels

Granular hydrogels have emerged as a new class of materials for 3D printing, tissue engineering, and food applications due to their extrudability, porosity, and modularity. This work introduces a convenient method to prepare granular hydrogel with tunable properties by modulating the interaction between gum Arabic (GA) and whey protein isolate (WPI) microgels. As the concentration of GA increased, the appearance of the hydrogel changed from fluid liquid to moldable solid, and the microstructure changed from a macro-porous structure with thin walls to a dense structure formed by the accumulation of spherical particles. At a GA concentration of 0.5 %, the hydrogels remained fluid. Granular hydrogels containing 1.0 % GA showed mechanical properties similar to those of tofu (compressive strength: 10.8 ± 0.5 kPa, Young's modulus: 16.7 ± 0.4 kPa), while granular hydrogels containing 1.5 % GA showed mechanical properties similar to those of hawthorn sticks and sausages (compressive strength: 300.4 ± 5.8 kPa; Young's modulus: 200.5 ± 3.4 kPa). The hydrogel with 2.0 % GA was similar to hawthorn sticks, with satisfactory bite resistance and elasticity. Such tunability has led to various application potentials in the food industry to meet consumer demand for healthy, nutritious, and diverse textures.

Development and evaluation of guar gum-coated nano-nutriosomes for cyanidin-3-O-glucoside encapsulation

Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) is a type of water-soluble flavonoid compound that is abundantly found in fruits and vegetables. C3G possesses numerous biological activities, however, it is prone to breakdown under environmental conditions. To overcome these issues, we developed nano-nutriosome (NS) carriers created by vortex-mixing and probe-sonication techniques for C3G encapsulation in which the phospholipid and Nutriose® FB06 were chosen as carrier material, and guar gum (GG) as a coating material to formulate a unilamellar and multicompartment structure. This study aimed to develop and evaluate C3G-loaded nano-nutriosomes coated by GG (GG-C3G-NS) for improving physicochemical stability, antioxidant activity, cellular uptake, and controlled release properties. The C3G-NS and GG-C3G-NS are nanosized (143.47 to 154.13 nm), with high encapsulation efficiency (>93.31 %). The NS carriers successfully encapsulated C3G which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. C3G showed more stability in storage, thermal, pH, ionic, and oxidative conditions. Furthermore, the NS exhibited a better-controlled release of C3G in different food stimulant conditions and in vitro release study. Additionally, NS systems enhanced cellular uptake and showed no cytotoxicity. Overall, GG-NS could be a promising nanocarrier for improving the stability, controlled release, and antioxidant activity of bioactive compounds.

Removal of diclofenac sodium from aqueous solution using different ionic liquids functionalized tragacanth gum hydrogel prepared by radiation technique

Diclofenac sodium (DCF) was reported as an important emerging environmental pollutant and its removal from wastewater is very urgent. In this study, different alkyl substituted ionic liquids (1-alkyl -3-vinyl- imidazolium bromide [CnVIm]Br, n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) functionalized tragacanth gum (TG-CnBr) are prepared by radiation induced grafting and crosslinking polymerization. The adsorption behaviors of ionic liquids functionalized tragacanth gum for diclofenac sodium from aqueous solutions are examined. The adsorption capacity of TG-CnBr for diclofenac sodium increases with the increasing of alkyl chain length of the imidazolium cation and the hydrophobicity of the hydrogels. The maximum adsorption capacity by TG-C12Br for diclofenac sodium at 30, 40 and 50 °C were 327.87, 310.56 and 283.29 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption of TG-C12Br towards diclofenac sodium was little decreased with NaCl increasing. The removal efficiency was still remained 94.55 % within 5 adsorption-desorption cycles by 1 M HCl. Also, the adsorption mechanism including electrostatic attraction, hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bonding, and π - π interaction was proposed.

Aerogels as Carriers for Oral Administration of Drugs: An Approach towards Colonic Delivery

Polysaccharide aerogels have emerged as a highly promising technology in the field of oral drug delivery. These nanoporous, ultralight materials, derived from natural polysaccharides such as cellulose, starch, or chitin, have significant potential in colonic drug delivery due to their unique properties. The particular degradability of polysaccharide-based materials by the colonic microbiota makes them attractive to produce systems to load, protect, and release drugs in a controlled manner, with the capability to precisely target the colon. This would allow the local treatment of gastrointestinal pathologies such as colon cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases. Despite their great potential, these applications of polysaccharide aerogels have not been widely explored. This review aims to consolidate the available knowledge on the use of polysaccharides for oral drug delivery and their performance, the production methods for polysaccharide-based aerogels, the drug loading possibilities, and the capacity of these nanostructured systems to target colonic regions.