One-Step Fabrication of Hollow Spherical Cellulose Beads: Application in pH-Responsive Therapeutic Delivery.
Tamilselvan MohanUrban AjdnikChandran NagarajFlorian LacknerAndreja Dobaj ŠtiglicThirvengadam PalaniLunjakorn AmornkitbamrungLidija GradišnikUroš MaverRupert KarglKarin Stana KleinschekPublished in: ACS applied materials & interfaces (2022)
The path to greater sustainability and the development of polymeric drug delivery systems requires innovative approaches. The adaptation and use of biobased materials for applications such as targeted therapeutic delivery is, therefore, in high demand. A crucial part of this relates to the development of porous and hollow structures that are biocompatible, pH-responsive, deliver active substances, and contribute to pain relief, wound healing, tissue regeneration, and so forth. In this study, we developed a facile single-step and water-based method for the fabrication of hollow spherical cellulose beads for targeted drug release in response to external pH stimuli. Through base-catalyzed deprotection, hydrophobic solid and spherical cellulose acetate beads are transformed into hydrophilic cellulose structures with a hollow interior (wall thickness: 150 μm and inner diameter: 650 μm) by a stepwise increment of temperature and treatment time. Besides the pH-responsive fluid uptake properties, the hollow cellulose structures exhibit a maximum encapsulation efficiency of 20-85% diclofenac (DCF), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, used commonly to treat pain and inflammatory diseases. The maximum amount of DCF released in vitro increased from 20 to 100% when the pH of the release medium increased from pH 1.2 to 7.4. As for the DCF release patterns and kinetic models at specific pH values, the release showed a diffusion- and swelling-controlled profile, effortlessly fine-tuned by external environmental pH stimuli. Overall, we show that the modified beads exhibit excellent characteristics for transport across the gastrointestinal tract and enhance the bioavailability of the drug. Their therapeutic efficacy and biocompatibility are also evident from the studies on human fibroblast cells. We anticipate that this platform could support and inspire the development of novel sustainable and effective polysaccharide-based delivery systems.
Keyphrases
- ionic liquid
- drug release
- metal organic framework
- aqueous solution
- molecularly imprinted
- wound healing
- chronic pain
- drug delivery
- cancer therapy
- high resolution
- highly efficient
- silver nanoparticles
- room temperature
- anti inflammatory
- endothelial cells
- stem cells
- pain management
- tissue engineering
- induced apoptosis
- emergency department
- air pollution
- risk assessment
- cell death
- drinking water
- signaling pathway
- cell proliferation
- mass spectrometry
- drug induced
- case control
- replacement therapy