Sesamol-loaded stearic acid-chitosan nanomicelles mitigate the oxidative stress-stimulated apoptosis and induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines in motor neuronal of the spinal cord through NF-ĸB signaling pathway.

As natural potential antioxidants suffer from low cellular uptake, the development of drug-loaded nanoplatforms may provide useful information about the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). In the present study, sesamol (SM)-loaded stearic acid (SA) -chitosan (CS) nanomicelles were fabricated and well-characterized. Afterwards, the neuroprotective effects of SM@SA-CS nanomicelles against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced oxidative stress in NSC-34 cells was assessed by different cellular and molecular pathways. It was deduced that the size of synthesized SM@SA-CS was in the range of 10-20 nm and the hydrodynamic radii of SA-CA and SM@SA-CA nanomicelles were 53.12 ± 6.21 nm and 59.12 ± 7.31 nm, respectively. Furthermore, SM@SA-CS nanomicelles displayed a sustained drug release at physiological pH, potential dissolution rate and stability even up to 15 days. Cellular assay showed that SM@SA-CS nanomicelles co-incubation with LPS for 24 h in comparison with free drug remarkably regulated cell survival, membrane leakage, generation of ROS, activity of non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant systems, and apoptotic and inflammatory signaling pathway through NF-ĸB signaling pathway. These data indicated that SM@SA-CS nanomicelles can be developed as a promising platform for the mitigation of oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis in neural cells.