Ionic complexation improves wound healing in deep second-degree burns and reduces in-vitro ciprofloxacin cytotoxicity in fibroblasts

Abstract

The development of new treatments capable of controlling infections and pain related to burns continues to be a challenge. Antimicrobials are necessary tools, but these can be cytotoxic for regenerating cells. In this study, antibiotic-anesthetic (AA) smart systems obtained by ionic complexation of polyelectrolytes with ciprofloxacin and lidocaine were obtained as films and hydrogels. Ionic complexation with sodium alginate and hyaluronate decreased cytotoxicity of ciprofloxacin above 70% in a primary culture of isolated fibroblasts (p < 0.05). In addition, the relative levels of the proteins involved in cell migration, integrin β1 and p-FAK, increased above 1.5 times (p < 0.05) with no significant differences in cell mobility. Evaluation of the systems in a deep second-degree burn model revealed that reepithelization rate was AA-films = AA-hydrogels > control films > no treated > reference cream (silver sulfadiazine cream). In addition, appendage conservation and complete dermis organization were achieved in AA-films and AA-hydrogels. Encouragingly, both the films and the hydrogels showed a significantly superior performance compared to the reference treatment. This work highlights the great potential of this smart system as an attractive dressing for burns, which surpasses currently available treatments.

A facile one-stone-two-birds strategy for fabricating multifunctional 3D nanofibrous scaffolds

“…Regarding the presence of antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and inorganic NPs in the delivery system, the concentration-dependent reduction in cell viability has been reported in prior studies. [62][63][64] Van Meurs et al found that OCT concentration below 2 × 10 −3 mg mL −1 does not affect cellular viability, 65 while Klaue et al decreased this amount to 5 × 10 −4 mg mL −1 and confirmed the ability to provide significant antimicrobial activity at the same concentration. 66 Our 100% extracts exhibited much higher OCT concentration (1.2 × 10 −2 mg mL −1 ).…”