Preparation and characterization of collagen microspheres for sustained release of steroidal saponins

Abstract

Steroidal saponins are the major pharmacological constituents of ophiopogon japonicus which have been used to treat bone and joint diseases, nerve damage, and hematischesis for hundreds of years in China. The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of collagen microspheres loaded with steroidal saponins as an inducer factor for skeletal defects using an in vitro model. The collagen-steroidal saponins composite microspheres were prepared using a water-in-oilin-water emulsion/solvent evaporation technique. SEM micrographs showed that spherical particles with diameters of tens micrometers were successfully produced. Release kinetics was characterized by an initial burst release reducing to a linear release over the first 8 days. MTT assay showed that the cells attached on composite microspheres were more in comparison with pure collagen microspheres and stimulated significantly higher level of alkaline phosphatase than the counterpart. Moreover, composite microspheres possess osteoinductive activities as demonstrated by the ability to induce cells to commit to crystals in contact coculture. The present finding suggests that sustained delivery of steroidal saponins may be very effective in improving the osteogenic potential of collagen microspheres and the composite microspheres are useful for tissue-engineering applications.

Microporous Nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen/phosphatidylserine Scaffolds Embedding Collagen Microparticles for Controlled Drug Delivery in Bone Tissue Engineering

“…Such drug provide readily available bioactivity facilitating bone ingrowth, Steroidal saponins (SS) has been demonstrated to promote the proliferation of osteoblasts. Moreover, the biomedical potential of SS loaded biodegradable collagen microparticles as a drug delivery system has been demonstrated in our previous study 2 . For bone repair, an ideal delivery system should combine an osteoconductive scaffold as structural support for cells with a drug for cellular growth and differentiation 3,4 .…”

Fabrication of Multiple Layered Scaffolds with Controlled Porous Micro-Architecture

“…The steroidal saponins-loaded collagen microspheres were prepared using a water-in-oilin-water emulsion/solvent evaporation technique 11 . PS and NuSieve GTG agarose gel were supplied by Boao Medical Ltd. (Shanghai, China) and Liyuan Medical Ltd. (Xiamen, China), respectively.…”

Designing Natural Polymer-Based Capsules and Spheres for Biomedical Applications—A Review

“…The released rhVEGF maintained its bioactivity and was able to induce capillary formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In another study by Yang et al, collagen microspheres loaded (during synthesis) with steroidal saponins, a glycoside with osteoinductive properties, were synthesized using the emulsion/solvent evaporation technique [133]. They aimed to demonstrate the sustained-release of steroidal saponins from the collagen microspheres and evaluate the osteogenic properties of the composed formulation.…”