The aim of this study was to develop and characterize a double layer biomembrane for dual drug delivery to be used for the treatment of wounds. The membrane was composed of chitosan, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and lidocaine chloride (anesthetic drug) in the first layer, and of sodium alginate-polymyxin B sulphate (antibiotic) nanoparticles as the second layer. A product with excellent thickness (0.01-0.02 mm), adequate mechanical properties with respect to elasticity, stiffness, tension, and compatible pH for lesion application has been successfully obtained. The incorporation of the drugs was confirmed analysing the membrane cross-sections by scanning electron microscopy. A strong interaction between the drugs and the functional groups of respective polymers was confirmed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. Microbiological assays showed a high antimicrobial activity when polymyxin B was present to act against the Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. Low cytotoxicity observed in a cell viability colorimetric assay and SEM analysis suggest biocompatibility between the developed biomembrane and the cell culture. The in vivo assay allowed visualizing the healing potential by calculating the wound retraction index and by histological analysis. Our results confirm the effectiveness of the developed innovative biomaterial for tissue repair and regeneration in an animal model.
Nanomedicine manipulates materials at atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale, with at least one dimension within the nanometer range, for biomedical applications. The resulting nanoparticles have been consistently shown beneficial effects for antifungal drugs delivery, overcoming the problems of low bioavailability and high toxicity of these drugs. Due to their unique features, namely the small mean particle size, nanoparticles contribute to the enhanced drug absorption and uptake by the target cells, potentiating the therapeutic drug effect. The topical route is desirable due to the adverse effects arising from oral administration. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of nano compounds for the current treatment of topical fungal infections. A special emphasis is given to the employment of lipid nanoparticles, due to their recognized efficacy, versatility and biocompatibility, attracting the major attention as novel topical nanocompounds used for the administration of antifungal drugs.
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