Gounden Varshan, Singh Moganavelli
Nano-Gene and Drug Delivery Laboratory, Discipline of Biochemistry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa.
Pharmaceutics. 2025 May 9;17(5):633. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17050633.
: Due to the challenges faced by anticancer therapeutics, such as poor selectivity and metabolic degradation, novel delivery systems are needed to mitigate the adverse effects of chemotherapy. The management of chronic wounds is often overlooked and affects patients mentally and physically. The application of hydrogels can reduce deficiencies in drug delivery and wound healing due to their similarity to the extracellular matrix and stimuli-responsive properties. : A chitosan (CS) hydrogel, cross-linked to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), followed by the encapsulation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), was formulated. The physicochemical properties, drug release profiles, cytotoxicity, and wound healing in vitro were analyzed. : Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and a UV-visible peak at 530 nm confirmed their successful synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy revealed spherical NPs of 89.31 nm, while scanning electron microscopy confirmed the porous network surface of the hydrogels. The thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated enhanced stability for the CS-Au hydrogel, while a non-Newtonian shear-thinning property was evident from rheology. Drug release showed a sustained, pH-dependent release with specificity for the acidic cancer microenvironment. The cytotoxicity assay demonstrated a specificity of the CS-Au-5-FU hydrogel for the cancer cells (HeLa and MCF-7) and diminished cytotoxicity in the non-cancer cells (HEK293). The scratch assay illustrated a complete closure of the wounds in HEK293 cells at low concentrations (15.63 and 31.25 µg/mL). : The positive findings from this study confirm the potential of these CS-Au hydrogels to function as smart in vitro delivery systems and scaffolds for wound healing, warranting additional optimizations and in vivo studies.
由于抗癌治疗面临诸多挑战，如选择性差和代谢降解，因此需要新型递送系统来减轻化疗的不良反应。慢性伤口的处理常常被忽视，会对患者的身心造成影响。水凝胶因其与细胞外基质的相似性和刺激响应特性，可减少药物递送和伤口愈合方面的不足。制备了一种壳聚糖（CS）水凝胶，其与金纳米颗粒（AuNPs）交联，随后包封5-氟尿嘧啶（5-FU）。分析了其理化性质、药物释放曲线、细胞毒性和体外伤口愈合情况。傅里叶变换红外光谱和530nm处的紫外可见峰证实了它们的成功合成。透射电子显微镜显示纳米颗粒呈89.31nm的球形，而扫描电子显微镜证实了水凝胶的多孔网络表面。热重分析表明CS-Au水凝胶的稳定性增强，流变学显示其具有非牛顿剪切变稀特性。药物释放呈现持续的、pH依赖性释放，对酸性癌症微环境具有特异性。细胞毒性试验表明CS-Au-5-FU水凝胶对癌细胞（HeLa和MCF-7）具有特异性，对非癌细胞（HEK293）的细胞毒性降低。划痕试验表明，在低浓度（15.63和31.25µg/mL）下，HEK293细胞中的伤口完全闭合。本研究的阳性结果证实了这些CS-Au水凝胶作为智能体外递送系统和伤口愈合支架的潜力，需要进一步优化和进行体内研究。
