Bonilla-Vidal Lorena, Espina Marta, García María Luisa, Baldomà Laura, Badia Josefa, Gliszczyńska Anna, Souto Eliana B, Sánchez-López Elena
Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN(2)UB), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Institute of Research of Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), 08950 Barcelona, Spain.
Int J Pharm. 2025 Feb 10;670:125160. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.125160. Epub 2024 Dec 31.
Ocular inflammation is a complex pathology with limited treatment options. While traditional therapies have side effects, novel approaches, such as natural compounds like Apigenin (APG) and Melatonin (MEL) offer promising solutions. APG and MEL, in combination with nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), may provide a synergistic effect in treating ocular inflammation, potentially improving patient outcomes and reducing adverse effects. NLC could provide chemical protection of these compounds, while offering a sustained release into the ocular surface. Optimized NLC exhibited suitable physicochemical parameters, physical stability, sustained release of APG and MEL, and were biocompatible in vitro with a corneal cell line, and in ovo by using hen's egg chorioallantoic membrane test. In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed the NLC' ability to attenuate inflammation by reducing interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) cytokine levels and by decreasing inflammation in a rabbit model. These findings suggest that the co-encapsulation of APG and MEL into NLC could represent a promising strategy for managing ocular inflammatory conditions.
