Chondroitin sulfate micro granules embedded with oligochitosan-calcium complexes for potential osteoporosis prevention

Physically Crosslinked Chondroitin Sulfate (CS)-Metal Ion (M: Fe(III), Gd(III), Zn(II), and Cu(II)) Particles for Versatile Applications and Their Biosafety

Chondroitin sulfate (CS), a well-known glycosaminoglycan, was physically crosslinked with Fe(III), Gd(III), Zn(II), and Cu(II) ions to obtain CS-Fe(III), CS-Gd(III), CS-Zn(II), and CS-Cu(II) polymeric particles for multipurpose biological applications. The CS-metal ion-containing particles in the micrometer to a few hundred nanometer size range are injectable materials for intravenous administration. The CS-metal ion-containing particles are safe biomaterials for biological applications because of their perfect blood compatibility and no significant cytotoxicity on L929 fibroblast cells up to a 10 mg/mL concentration. Furthermore, CS-Zn(II) and CS-Cu(II) particles show excellent antibacterial susceptibility, with 2.5-5.0 mg/mL minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, the in vitro contrast enhancement abilities of aqueous CS-metal ion particle suspensions in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were determined by obtaining T₁- and T₂-weighted MR images using a 0.5 Tesla MRI scanner and by calculating the water proton relaxivities. Therefore, these CS-Fe(III), CS-Gd(III), CS-Zn(II), and CS-Cu(II) particles have significant potential as antibacterial additive materials and MRI contrast enhancement agents with less toxicity.

Degradable and Non-Degradable Chondroitin Sulfate Particles with the Controlled Antibiotic Release for Bacterial Infections

Non-degradable, slightly degradable, and completely degradable micro/nanoparticles derived from chondroitin sulfate (CS) were synthesized through crosslinking reactions at 50%, 40%, and 20% mole ratios, respectively. The CS particles with a 20% crosslinking ratio show total degradation within 48 h, whereas 50% CS particles were highly stable for up to 240 h with only 7.0 ± 2.8% weight loss in physiological conditions (pH 7.4, 37 °C). Tobramycin and amikacin antibiotics were encapsulated into non-degradable CS particles with high loading at 250 g/mg for the treatment of corneal bacterial ulcers. The highest release capacity of 92 ± 2% was obtained for CS-Amikacin particles with sustainable and long-term release profiles. The antibacterial effects of CS particles loaded with 2.5 mg of antibiotic continued to render a prolonged release time of 240 h with 24 ± 2 mm inhibition zones against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Furthermore, as a carrier, CS particles significantly improved the compatibility of the antibiotics even at high particle concentrations of 1000 g/mL with a minimum of 71 ± 7% fibroblast cell viability. In summary, the sustainable delivery of antibiotics and long-term treatment of bacterial keratitis were shown to be afforded by the design of tunable degradation ability of CS particles with improved biocompatibility for the encapsulated drugs.