Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland; Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland.
Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2022 Nov 30;221:1218-1227. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.09.014. Epub 2022 Sep 7.
Curcumin is a known naturally occurring anti-inflammatory agent derived from turmeric, and it is commonly used as a herbal food supplement. Here, in order to overcome the inherent hydrophobicity of curcumin (Cur), polylactic acid (PLA) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesised using a solvent evaporation, and an oil-in-water emulsion method used to encapsulate curcumin. Polymeric NPs also offer the ability to control rate of drug release. The newly synthesised NPs were analysed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), where results show the NPs range from 50 to 250 nm. NPs containing graded amounts of curcumin (0 %, 0.5 %, and 2 %) were added to cultures of NIH3T3 fibroblast cells for cytotoxicity evaluation using the Alamar Blue assay. Then, the curcumin NPs were incorporated into an alginate/gelatin solution, prior to crosslinking using a calcium chloride solution (200 nM). These hydrogels were then characterised with respect to their chemical, mechanical and rheological properties. Following hydrogel optimization, hydrogels loaded with NP containing 2 % curcumin were selected as a candidate as a bioink for three-dimensional (3D) printing. The biological assessment for these bioinks/hydrogels were conducted using THP-1 cells, a human monocytic cell line. Cell viability and immunomodulation were evaluated using lactate dehydrogenase (LHD) and a tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay, respectively. Results show that the hydrogels were cytocompatible and supressed the production of TNF-α. These bioactive hydrogels are printable, supress immune cell activation and inflammation showing immense potential for the fabrication of tissue engineering constructs.
姜黄素是一种天然存在的抗炎剂，来源于姜黄，通常用作草药食品补充剂。在这里，为了克服姜黄素（Cur）的固有疏水性，使用溶剂蒸发法合成了聚乳酸（PLA）纳米粒子（NPs），并使用油包水乳液法来包封姜黄素。聚合物 NPs 还具有控制药物释放速率的能力。新合成的 NPs 使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）进行分析，结果表明 NPs 的尺寸范围为 50 至 250nm。将含有不同浓度姜黄素（0%、0.5%和 2%）的 NPs 添加到 NIH3T3 成纤维细胞的培养物中，使用 Alamar Blue 测定法评估细胞毒性。然后，将姜黄素 NPs 掺入藻酸盐/明胶溶液中，然后使用氯化钙溶液（200nM）交联。然后对这些水凝胶进行化学、机械和流变学特性的表征。在水凝胶优化之后，选择含有 2%姜黄素 NP 的水凝胶作为候选物，用于三维（3D）打印的生物墨水。使用人单核细胞系 THP-1 细胞对这些生物墨水/水凝胶进行了生物学评估。使用乳酸脱氢酶（LHD）和肿瘤坏死因子 alpha（TNF-α）酶联免疫吸附（ELISA）测定法分别评估细胞活力和免疫调节。结果表明水凝胶具有细胞相容性，并抑制了 TNF-α的产生。这些具有生物活性的水凝胶可打印，抑制免疫细胞激活和炎症，为组织工程构建体的制造展示了巨大的潜力。
