Cell selective chitosan microparticles as injectable cell carriers for tissue regeneration

The detection, isolation and sorting of cells holds an important role in cell therapy and regenerative medicine. Also, injectable systems have been explored for tissue regeneration in vivo, because it allows repairing complex shaped tissue defects through minimally invasive surgical procedures. Here we report the development of chitosan microparticles with a size of 115.8 μm able to capture and expand a specific cell type that can also be regarded as an injectable biomaterial. Monoclonal antibodies against cell surface antigens specific to endothelial cells and stem cells were immobilized on the surface of the microparticles. Experimental results showed that particles bioconjugated with specific antibodies provide suitable surfaces to capture a target cell type and subsequent expansion of the captured cells. Primarily designed for an application in tissue engineering, three main challenges are accomplished with the herein presented microparticles: separation, scale-up expansion of specific cell type and successful use as an injectable system to form small tissue constructs in situ.     

Cross-linked chitosan microspheres as carriers for prolonged delivery of macromolecular drugs

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and diphtheria toxoid (DT) were loaded by passive absorption from aqueous solutions into preformed glutaraldehyde cross-linked chitosan microspheres. In vitro release of BSA under sink conditions at 37°C showed that even though there was a large burst effect, there was a more or less steady increase with time thereafter for several days. Coating the BSA-loaded particles with paraffin oil or with a polymer, such as polylactic acid, modulated drug release. After the initial burst from PLA coated particles, the release rate increased with time for nearly 2 months. Preliminary immunogenicity studies on Wistar rats using DT loaded chitosan spheres showed that the antibody titres were fairly constant over a 5-month period, although very low compared to DT given on alum as control. Histological studies of placebo microspheres intramuscularly injected into rats demonstrated their tissue compatibility. Biodegradation was not complete in 6 months demonstrating the potential of cross-linked chitosan spheres as a long-acting drug delivery vehicle. The study demonstrated the possibility of incorporating biological macromolecules which are very sensitive to organic solvents, pH, temperature, ultrasound, etc. by a passive absorption technique to degradable biopolymer matrices thereby preserving their biological integrity. It is also shown that drugs passively absorbed into such matrices by taking advantage of their swelling behaviour need not necessarily be released completely in the initial 'burst' and a sustained release may be possible for macromolecules thus incorporated.     

Facile synthesis of magnetic-/pH-responsive hydrogel beads based on Fe3O4 nanoparticles and chitosan hydrogel as MTX carriers for controlled drug release

In the present study, methotrexate (MTX)-encapsulated magnetic-/pH-responsive hydrogel beads based on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and chitosan were successfully prepared through a one-step gelation process, which is a very facile, economic and environmentally friendly route. The developed hydrogel beads exhibited homogeneous porous structure and super-paramagnetic responsibility. MTX can be successfully encapsulated into magnetic chitosan hydrogel beads, and the drug encapsulation efficiency (%) and encapsulation content (%) were 93.8 and 6.28%, respectively. In addition, the drug release studies in vitro indicated that the MTX-encapsulated magnetic chitosan hydrogel beads had excellent pH-sensitivity, 90.6% MTX was released from the magnetic chitosan hydrogel beads within 48 h at pH 4.0. WST-1 assays in human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) demonstrated that the MTX-encapsulated magnetic chitosan hydrogel beads had good cytocompatibility and high anti-tumor activity. Therefore, our results revealed that the MTX-encapsulated magnetic chitosan hydrogel beads would be a competitive candidate for controlled drug release in the area of targeted cancer therapy in the near future.     

Biomimetic LBL structured nanofibrous matrices assembled by chitosan/collagen for promoting wound healing

This paper reports the fabrication of biomimetic nanofibrous matrices via co-electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL)/cellulose acetate (CA) and layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL) of positively charged chitosan (CS) and negatively charged Type Ⅰ collagen on the nanofibrous matrix. FE-SEM images indicate that the average fiber diameter increased from 392 to 541 nm when the coating bilayers varied from 5 to 20.5. Besides, the excellent biocompatibility and enhanced attachment and spreading of normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) of prepared nanofibrous mats are confirmed by MTT and SEM results. Furthermore, the LBL structured (CS/collagen)_n nanofibrous mats greatly improve the cell migration in vitro, promote re-epithelialization and vascularization in vivo, and up-regulate the expression of collagen Ⅳ and α-tubulin, as well as the Integrin β1 and phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) at Tyr-397. The levels of expressed protein are significantly enhanced with increasing coating bilayers via immunohistochemistry and western blotting analyses. Collectively, these results suggest that the LBL structured biomimetic nanofibrous matrices may enhance cell migration and further promote the skin regeneration by up-regulating the secretion of ECM protein and triggering Integrin/FAK signaling pathway, which demonstrate the potential use of the nanofibrous mats to rapidly restore the structural and functional properties of wounded skin.     

Poly(ω-pentadecalactone-co-butylene-co-succinate) nanoparticles as biodegradable carriers for camptothecin delivery

In this study, we show that degradable particles of a hydrophobic polymer can effectively deliver drugs to tumors after i.v. administration. Free-standing nanoparticles with diameters of 100–300 nm were successfully fabricated from highly hydrophobic, biodegradable poly(ω-pentadecalactone-co-butylene-co-succinate) (PPBS) copolyesters. PPBS copolymers with various compositions (20–80 mol% PDL unit contents) were synthesized via copolymerization of ω-pentadecalactone (PDL), diethyl succinate (DES), and 1,4-butanediol (BD) using Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) as the catalyst. Camptothecin (CPT, 12–22%) was loaded into PPBS nanoparticles with high encapsulation efficiency (up to 96%) using a modified oil-in-water single emulsion technique. The CPT-loaded nanoparticles had a zeta potential of about −10 mV. PPBS particles were non-toxic in cell culture. Upon encapsulation, the active lactone form of CPT was remarkably stabilized and no lactone-to-carboxylate structural conversion was observed for CPT-loaded PPBS nanoparticles incubated in both phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH = 7.4) and DMEM medium for at least 24 h. In PBS at 37 °C, CPT-loaded PPBS nanoparticles showed a low burst CPT release (20–30%) within the first 24 h followed by a sustained, essentially complete, release of the remaining drug over the subsequent 40 days. Compared to free CPT, CPT-loaded PPBS nanoparticles showed a significant enhancement of cellular uptake, higher cytotoxicity against Lewis lung carcinoma and 9L cell lines in vitro, a longer circulation time, and substantially better antitumor efficacy in vivo. These results demonstrate the potential of PPBS nanoparticles as long-term stable and effective drug delivery systems in cancer therapy.