Background: Osteoarthritis causes tremendous damage to the joints, reducing the quality of life and imposing significant financial burden. An implantable drug-delivery system can improve the symptomatic manifestations with low doses and frequencies. However, the free drug has short retention in the joint cavity. Materials & methods: This study used electrostatic spinning technology to create an implantable drug-delivery system loaded with celecoxib (celecoxib nanofibers [Cel-NFs]) to improve retention and bioavailability. Results: Cel-NFs exhibited good formability, hydrophilicity and tensile properties. Cel-NFs were able to continuously release drugs for 2 weeks and increase the uptake capacity of Raw 264.7 cells, ultimately ameliorating symptoms in osteoarthritis rats. Conclusion: These results suggest that Cel-NFs can effectively ameliorate cartilage damage, reduce joint pain and alleviate osteoarthritis progression.
Keyphrases
- rheumatoid arthritis
- knee osteoarthritis
- oxidative stress
- induced apoptosis
- chronic pain
- drug delivery
- cell cycle arrest
- pain management
- tissue engineering
- cell death
- molecular dynamics simulations
- emergency department
- cell proliferation
- gestational age
- extracellular matrix
- signaling pathway
- health insurance
- spinal cord
- low cost