Polyphenolic Compounds Nanostructurated with Gold Nanoparticles Enhance Wound Repair

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been used in a wide range of applications, conferring to bio-molecules diverse properties such as delivery, stabilization, and reduction of the adverse effects of drugs or plant extracts. Polyphenolic compounds from Bacopa procumbens (B. procumbens) (BP) can modulate proliferation, adhesion, migration, and cell differentiation, reducing the artificial scratch area in fibroblast cultures and promoting wound healing in an in vivo model. Here, chemically synthesized AuNPs conjugated with BP (AuNP-BP) were characterized using UV-Vis, ATR-FTIR, DLS, zeta-potential, and TEM analysis. The results showed an overlap of the FTIR spectra of the polyphenolic compounds from B. procumbens adhered to the surface of the AuNPs. UV-vis analysis indicated that the average size of the AuNP-BP was 28 nm, while DLS analysis showed a size of 44.58 nm and, by TEM, a size of 16.5 nm with an icosahedral morphology was observed. These measurements suggest an increase in the size of the nanoparticles after conjugation with BP, compared to the sizes of 9 nm, 44.51 nm, and 14.17 nm for the unconjugated AuNPs, respectively. Furthermore, the zeta potential of the AuNPs, which was originally −36.3 ± 12.3 mV shifted to −18.2 ± 7.02 mV after conjugation with BP, indicating improved stability of the nanoparticles. Enhancement of the wound healing effect was evaluated by morphometric, histochemical, and FTIR changes in a rat wound excision model. Results showed that the nanoconjugation process reduced the BP concentrations by 100-fold to have the same wound healing effect as BP alone. Besides, histological and FTIR spectroscopy analyses demonstrated that AuNP-BP treatment exhibited better macroscopical performance, showing a reduction in inflammatory cells and an increased synthesis and improved organization of collagen fibers.

3D-Printed Alginate/Pectin-Based Patches Loaded with Olive Leaf Extracts for Wound Healing Applications: Development, Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation of Biological Properties

“…In order understand the mechanism of the release process, different kinetic models, such as zero-order, first-order, Higuchi, Hixson-Crowell and Korsmeyer-Peppas models, were applied using the following (Equations ( 6)- (10), respectively): In the first 2 h, a burst effect was noted, which may be due to the rapid dissolution of the surface polyphenols, and the amount of active molecules released from OLEF_9 was 54.55%. After 120 min, sustained release was also observed, amounting to 76.55% at the end of 8 h; the cumulative release of polyphenols increased progressively over time, reaching 100% after 48 h.…”

“…In order understand the mechanism of the release process, different kinetic models, such as zero-order, first-order, Higuchi, Hixson-Crowell and Korsmeyer-Peppas models, were applied using the following (Equations ( 6)- (10), respectively):…”

“…To calculate the steady-state flux, the lag time, in which polyphenols penetrate the membrane and diffuse into the receptor fluid before reaching a steady state of diffusion, needs to be noticed. In detail, J was determined from the linear slope of the cumulative amount of diffused polyphenols vs. time curve, and its value was 11.632 ± 0.016 µg/cm 2 h; meanwhile, the K p was calculated according to Equation (10) and was equal to 23.87 × 10 −3 ± 0.13 cm/h. This proves that polyphenols were released from the polymeric matrix and were able to constantly diffuse through the synthetic membrane.…”

“…Phenolic compounds, specifically polyphenols, are a group of secondary metabolites of plants that exhibit potential in the therapeutic intervention for diverse cutaneous injuries, including burns and wounds [ 9 ]. The wound healing process is aided by the beneficial properties of polyphenols found in certain plant species including Bacopa procumbens , which has traditionally been used in wound healing due to the presence of phenolic compounds that are able to regulate cell proliferation, adhesion and differentiation, and improve cell migration [ 10 ]. In 2022, indeed, Martínez-Cuazitl et al described the effects of polyphenols from Bacopa procumbens on the wound healing process and incorporated these active molecules into a hydrogel formulation, which was assessed in a rat excision wound model showing that the treatment accelerated wound closure and reduced inflammation, enhancing cell proliferation and collagen organization [ 11 ].…”

Romanian Wild-Growing Chelidonium majus—An Emerging Approach to a Potential Antimicrobial Engineering Carrier System Based on AuNPs: In Vitro Investigation and Evaluation

“…As a result, current research addresses the design of novel drug delivery systems that can mitigate drug resistance in cancer therapy, bacterial resistance antibiotics, etc. [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”