Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Sector-81, Mohali 140306, Punjab, India.
Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Sector-81, Mohali 140306, Punjab, India.
Biomater Adv. 2022 Aug;139:212978. doi: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2022.212978. Epub 2022 Jun 7.
The pharmacological effects of curcumin can be ascribed to its dose-dependent activity. Therapeutic application of curcumin is hindered by its poor solubility and low bioavailability. Carbon dots are gaining attention in biomedical applications in view of their unique photo-physical properties. Some carbon dots derived from bioactive molecules have shown superior activity than the parent compound. With an aim to address the limitations of curcumin, herein we compared the wound healing activity of curcumin-derived carbon dots (CurCD) with curcumin. The improved solubility and stability of CurCD, combined with its superior proliferative, proangiogenic and anti-bacterial activity suggested that CurCD would be more beneficial than curcumin in wound healing. To enable the sustained release of CurCD at the wound site, a protease-responsive hydrogel (GHCD) was prepared with CurCD acting as a cross-linker. A comparative study using a skin excision model revealed that GHCD supported faster wound closure with improved angiogenesis and complete restoration of the epithelium. Apart from the establishment of CurCD as a wound healing agent, the study provides a novel carbon dot based approach for molecules with limitations of solubility and bioavailability.
姜黄素的药理作用可以归因于其剂量依赖性活性。由于其溶解度差和生物利用度低，姜黄素的治疗应用受到阻碍。鉴于其独特的光物理性质，碳点在生物医学应用中受到关注。一些源自生物活性分子的碳点表现出比母体化合物更高的活性。为了解决姜黄素的局限性，本文比较了姜黄素衍生的碳点（CurCD）与姜黄素的伤口愈合活性。CurCD 提高了溶解度和稳定性，同时具有更好的增殖、促血管生成和抗细菌活性，这表明 CurCD 在伤口愈合方面比姜黄素更有益。为了使 CurCD 在伤口部位实现持续释放，用 CurCD 作为交联剂制备了一种蛋白酶响应水凝胶（GHCD）。使用皮肤切除模型进行的对比研究表明，GHCD 支持更快的伤口闭合，改善了血管生成，并完全恢复了上皮。除了将 CurCD 确立为伤口愈合剂之外，该研究还为具有溶解度和生物利用度限制的分子提供了一种基于碳点的新方法。
