Physicochemical Characteristics of Chitosan-Based Hydrogels Containing Albumin Particles and Aloe vera Juice as Transdermal Systems Functionalized in the Viewpoint of Potential Biomedical Applications

Abstract

In recent years, many investigations on the development of innovative dressing materials with potential applications, e.g., for cytostatics delivery, have been performed. One of the most promising carriers is albumin, which tends to accumulate near cancer cells. Here, chitosan-based hydrogels containing albumin spheres and Aloe vera juice, designed for the treatment of skin cancers or burn wounds resulting from radiotherapy, were developed. The presence of albumin in hydrogel matrices was confirmed via Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy. Albumin spheres were clearly visible in microscopic images. It was proved that the introduction of albumin into hydrogels resulted in their increased resistance to the tensile load, i.e., approximately 30% more force was needed to break such materials. Modified hydrogels showed approximately 10% more swelling ability. All hydrogels were characterized by hydrophilicity (contact angles were <90°) which may support the regeneration of epithelial cells and non-cytotoxicity towards murine fibroblasts L929 and released Aloe vera juice more effectively in an acidic environment than in a neutral one wherein spheres introduced into the hydrogel matrix extended the release time. Thus, the developed materials, due to their chemical composition and physicochemical properties, constitute promising materials with great application potential for biomedical purposes.

Designing and In Vitro Characterization of pH-Sensitive Aspartic Acid-Graft-Poly(Acrylic Acid) Hydrogels as Controlled Drug Carriers

“…Hydrogels are three-dimensional structure networks, with a water holding capability of 10–20% in a random range up to a thousand times its dry weight [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. A great interest has been shown recently in the development and use of stimuli-responsive smart hydrogels because they can show a response to physical, chemical, and environmental stimuli, i.e., temperature [ 8 ], pH [ 9 ], light, electric fields [ 10 ], and magnetic fields [ 11 ].…”

Gel Formulations for Topical Treatment of Skin Cancer: A Review

“…BisAA 3 , APS 4 /TEMED 5 Indocyanine green Free radical polymerization [118] Chitosan PEGDA 6 Aloe vera juice UV cross-linking [119] A hydrogel-based transdermal system for the potential treatment of skin cancer and radiotherapy-induced burn wounds was prepared and characterized by Kudłacik-Kramarczyk et al The formulation was based on chitosan and cross-linked with PEGDA (diacrylate poly(ethyleneglycol)). Chitosan hydrogels need an alkaline medium to coagulate and provide the characteristic rheological behavior.…”

3D Bioprinting of Hyaline Articular Cartilage: Biopolymers, Hydrogels, and Bioinks

“…Quality Assessment Methods for Hydrogels, Bioinks, and Bioprinted Products In the process of obtaining and developing hydrogels and bioinks and creating volumetric constructs in the TDB process, it is necessary to analyse their composition, physical and chemical properties, and the nature of the interaction between biopolymers, and assess the state and stages of development of cell components, as well as the subsequent study of stability and bioresorption of bioprinted products (bioimplants) after implantation, including their impact on the morphology and biochemistry of damaged surrounding tissue. For these purposes, a set of various physical and chemical research methods are used to assess the structure and component composition of hydrogels and bioinks, among which there is infrared spectroscopy [292][293][294], Raman spectroscopy [295], the circular dichroism method [296], the fluorescence method [297], etc. In addition, electron microscopy is used to analyse the molecular organization of networks of biopolymers that form a gel [180,296,298].…”