Phenylboronic Acid-Grafted Chitosan Nanocapsules for Effective Delivery and Controllable Release of Natural Antioxidants: Olive Oil and Hydroxytyrosol

Modified chitosan: Insight on biomedical and industrial applications

Chitosan (CS), a by -product of chitin deacetylation can be useful in a broad range of purposes, to mention agriculture, pharmaceuticals, material science, food and nutrition, biotechnology and of recent, in gene therapy. Chitosan is a highly desired biomolecule due to the existence of many sensitive functional groups inside the molecule and also because of its net cationicity. The latter provides flexibility for creating a wide range of derivatives for particular end users across various industries. This overview aims to compile some of the most recent research on the bio-related applications that chitosan and its derivatives can be used for. However, chitosan's reactive functional groups are amendable to chemical reaction. Modifying the material to show enhanced solubility, a greater range of application options and pH-sensitive targeting and others have been a major focus of chitosan research. This review describes the modifications of chitosan that have been made to improve its water solubility, pH sensitivity, and capacity to target chitosan derivatives. Applying the by-products of chitosan as antibacterial, in targeting, extended release and as delivery systems is also covered. The by-products of chitosan will be important and potentially useful in developing new biomedical drugs in time to come.

Galloyl-oligochitosan nano-vehicles for effective and controlled propolis delivery targeting upgrading its antioxidant and antiproliferative potential

A new conjugate, galloyl-oligochitosan nanoparticles (GOCNPs), was fabricated and used as nano-vehicle for effective and controlled delivery of propolis extract (PE) in the form of PE#GOCNPs, targeting improving its pharmaceutical potential. H-bonding interactions between the carboxyl, amino, and hydroxyl groups of the GOCNPs and PE resulted in successful encapsulation, with an entrapment efficacy of 97.3 %. The PE#GOCNPs formulation also exhibited excellent physicochemical stability and time-triggered drug release characteristics under physiological conditions. Furthermore, PE#GOCNPs showed significant activity against MCF-7 and HEPG2 carcinoma cells by scavenging free oxygen radicals and upregulating antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, PE#GOCNPs displayed anti-inflammatory properties by increasing IL10 and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines more effectively than celecoxib. Furthermore, PE#GOCNPs reduced the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and survivin genes. Furthermore, the encapsulated PE demonstrated significant activity in suppressing sonic hedgehog protein (SHH). The use of GOCNPs in combination with propolis presents a promising new strategy for chemotherapy with reduced toxicity and enhanced biocompatibility. This novel approach has the potential to revolutionize the field of chemotherapy. Future studies should focus on the application of the encapsulated PE in various cancer cell lines, distinct gene expression factors, and cell cycles.

Evolution of radiation-induced dermatitis treatment

Radiation-induced skin damage (RID) is the most prevalent, significant side effect of radiotherapy (RT). Nearly 95% of patients experience moderate to severe skin reactions after receiving radiation therapy. However, criteria for acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) treatment remain unavailable. Topical agents with anti-inflammatory properties may protect the skin and facilitate tissue regeneration in patients with RID. Many of these topical agents function through nuclear factor kappa B pathway regulation. They either reduce the levels of inflammatory factors or elicit anti-inflammatory properties of their own, thus preventing oxidative stress and inflammatory responses and thus enabling RID prevention and management. Herein, we explore the 25 topical agents investigated for RID prevention and management thus far and evaluate their mechanisms of action. These agents include 11 natural agents, 3 miscellaneous agents, 9 topical nonsteroidal agents, and 2 topical corticosteroids.

Design, development, and evaluation of CDK-4/6 inhibitor loaded 4-carboxy phenyl boronic acid conjugated pH-sensitive chitosan lecithin nanoparticles in the management of breast cancer

Our main aim to design and develop a novel 4-carboxy phenyl boronic acid (4-CPBA) conjugated Palbociclib (PALB) loaded pH-sensitive chitosan lipid nanoparticles (PPCL) to enhance the anti-cancer efficacy of the PALB in in-vitro cell line studies by loading into 4-CPBA conjugated chitosan lipid nanoparticles. 4-CPBA was conjugated to chitosan by carbodiimide chemistry and formation of conjugate was confirmed by 1HNMR, ATR-FTIR spectroscopic techniques. Ionic-gelation method was used for the fabrication of PPCL and particles size, PDI, zeta potential were found to be 226.5 ± 4.3 nm, 0.271 ± 0.014 and 5.03 ± 0.42 mV. Presence of pH-sensitive biological macromolecule i.e. chitosan in the carrier system provides pH-sensitivity to PPCL and sustainedly released the drug upto 144 h. The PPCL exhibited approximately 7.2, 6.6, and 5-fold reduction in IC50 values than PALB in MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 cells. Receptor blocking assay concluded that the fabricated nanoparticles were internalized into MCF-7 cells might be through sialic acid-mediated endocytosis. PPCL caused extensive mitochondrial depolarization, enhanced ROS generation, apoptosis (DAPI nuclear staining, acridine orange/ ethidium bromide dual staining), and reduced % cell migration than pure PALB. It was concluded that the hybrid lipid-polymer nanoparticles provides an optimistic approach for the treatment of breast cancer.

Synthesis, properties, and applications of a polyampholyte hydroxypropyl chitosan derivative with the phenylboronic acid functional group

Phenylboronic acid (PBA) groups are effective in building glucose-responsive drug delivery systems. Chitosan (CS) offers distinct advantages in the construction of PBA-based biomaterials, such as biodegradability and biocompatibility. However, challenges still persist due to the limited solubility of CS. This study proposes an efficient approach to introduce PBA groups into CS chains within 1 h via the O-(7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HATU)-mediated amidation between 3-carboxyphenylboronic acid (CPBA) and O-hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCS). The results showed that a wide range of substitution degrees, from 0.15 to 0.78, could be finely controlled by the amount of CPBA added. Furthermore, the obtained novel carboxyphenylboronic acid-grafted hydroxypropyl chitosan (PBA-HPCS) derivative showed enhanced crystallinity and thermostability compared to HPCS, and it demonstrated solubility in an alkaline solution. Based on the reversible bonding between the boronic acid group and cis-1,2/1,3-diols, PBA-HPCS was successfully used as an efficient crosslinker for the preparation of hydrogels incorporating sorbitol and polyhydroxy polymers, such as guar gum and polyvinyl alcohol. These hydrogels exhibited rapid gelation, rapid self-healing, injectability, and responsiveness to glucose and pH. These findings suggest that PBA-HPCS holds promise for advancing the development of PBA-based biomaterials.

Alginate-chitosan-microencapsulated tyrosols/oleuropein-rich olive mill waste extract for lipopolysaccharide-induced skin fibroblast inflammation treatment

The Ca2+ ion-driven emulsification-ionotropic gelation method produced chitosan-alginate microspheres (CAMSs) with a narrow particle size distribution (PSD). Particle size distribution and zeta potential studies, as well as spectral electron microscopy, were used to assess the microspheres' physicochemical properties and morphology. The tyrosols (hydroxytyrosol (HT), tyrosol (TY), and oleuropein (OE) were loaded into these microspheres using a polyphenol extract (PPE) from Koroneki olive mill waste (KOMW). The microencapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of microspheres for PPE were 98.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Three simulated fluids, including gastric (pH = 1.2), intestinal (pH = 6.8), and colonic (pH = 7.4), were used to examine how the pH of the releasing medium affected the ability of CAMSs to release bioactive phenols. At a severely acidic pH (1.2, SGF), PPE release is nearly halted, while at pH 6.8 (SCF), release is at its maximum. Additionally, the PPE-CAMPs have ameliorated the endogenous antioxidant content SOD, GST, GPx with significant values from 0.05 to 0.01 in the treated LPS/human skin fibroblast cells. The anti-inflammatory response was appeared through their attenuations activity for the released cytokines TNF-α, IL6, IL1β, and IL 12 with levels significantly from 0.01 to 0.001. Microencapsulation of PPE by CAMPs significantly improved its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities.