Preparation and Evaluation of Collagen-Based Patches as Curcumin Carriers

Abstract

Patients with psoriasis are dissatisfied with the standard pharmacological treatments, whether systemic or topical, with many of them showing interest in complementary and alternative medicine. Curcumin (Cur), a natural polyphenol derived from turmeric, has recently gained attention for skin-related diseases because of its proven anti-inflammatory action. However, topical treatment with Cur would be inadequate because of its hydrophobicity, instability, and low bioavailability. In addition, hyperkeratosis and lack of moisture in psoriatic skin result in low penetration that would prevent actives from permeating the stratum corneum. In this work, a polymer-based formulation of Cur for the topical treatment of psoriasis is reported. To improve the physicochemical stability of Cur, it was first encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles. The Cur-loaded nanoparticles were incorporated in a hydrophilic, biocompatible collagen-based patch. The nanoparticle-containing porous collagen patches were then chemically cross-linked. Morphology, chemical interactions, swelling ratio, enzymatic hydrolysis, and Cur release from the patches were evaluated. All patches showed excellent swelling ratio, up to ~1500%, and after cross-linking, the pore size decreased, and their hydrolysis rates decelerated. The in vitro release of Cur was sustained with an initial burst release, reaching 55% after 24 h. Cur within the scaffolds imparted a proliferation inhibitory effect on psoriatic human keratinocytes in vitro.

Leflunomide Sustained Skin Delivery Based on Sulfobetaine-Modified Chitosan Nanoparticles Embedded in Biodegradable Polyesters Films

“…Finally, the swelling ratio of the prepared thin-films in SBF are presented in Figure 13 . In general, the ability of a skin patch to absorb and retain water is crucial since it is considered to be one of the main mechanisms of regulating (sustaining) an API’s dissolution process, while increased swelling is related to increased cell adhesion and proliferation [ 56 ]. Moreover, in the case of psoriasis, retaining water is essential, since un-hydration in the site of action leads to losses in trans-epidermal water, which has shown to exacerbate the disease [ 57 , 58 ].…”

Preliminary Evaluation of 3D Printed Chitosan/Pectin Constructs for Biomedical Applications

“…To evaluate the direct cytotoxicity of our materials, the different CS-PEC scaffolds were deposited on confluent cell cultures. Normal human fibroblast cells isolated and expanded from skin biopsies as described elsewhere at passage 1 [ 83 ] were seeded at 22,500/well onto a 24-well plate. The cells were left to grow in DMEM (BIOWEST, Nuaillé, France), 10% fetal bovine serum (BIOWEST), 1% penicillin/streptomycin (BIOWEST) for 48 h and their viability was estimated by [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay at time 0 before treatment.…”

Enzymatic and Chemical Cross-Linking of Bacterial Cellulose/Fish Collagen Composites—A Comparative Study

“…According to Bragg’s law, the identity distance ( d ) of each crystal plane is 6.06 ( d 1 ), 5.52 ( d 2 ), and 3.92 nm ( d 3 ) ( Table 2 ), which is assigned to the typical cellulose I crystal [ 21 , 22 ]. The diffractogram of Col indicated that it was an amorphous material; however, the main peaks at 7.7 and 20.2° 2 θ were distinguished [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. The former peak is related to the diameter of the triple helix and the latter to the distance between amino acidic residue along this helix.…”