New Chitosan-Based Co-Delivery Nanosystem for Diabetes Mellitus Therapy

• Published in: Polymers Vol. 16; no. 13; p. 1825
• Main Authors: Lupascu, Florentina Geanina, Sava, Alexandru, Tătărușanu, Simona-Maria, Iacob, Andreea-Teodora, Dascălu, Andrei, Profire, Bianca-Ștefania, Vasincu, Ioana-Mirela, Apotrosoaei, Maria, Gîscă, Tudor-Cătălin, Turin-Moleavin, Ioana-Andreea, Profire, Lenuta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.06.2024
• Subjects: Antidiabetics; Antioxidants; Bioavailability; Cardiovascular disease; Chitosan; co-delivery; curcumin; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Drug delivery systems; Entrapment; Fourier transforms; HPLC; Hyperglycemia; Infrared spectroscopy; Insulin resistance; Metabolic disorders; Nanoparticles; Oxidation resistance; Oxidative stress; Photon correlation spectroscopy; pioglitazone; Polydispersity; Polyimide resins; Spectrum analysis; Toxicity; Transmission electron microscopy; Zeta potential; United States > US; co-delivery; chitosan; pioglitazone; nanoparticles; HPLC; curcumin
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym16131825

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common metabolic disorders, with a major involvement of oxidative stress in its onset and progression. Pioglitazone (Pio) is an antidiabetic drug that mainly works by reducing insulin resistance, while curcumin (Cur) is a powerful antioxidant with an important hypoglycemic effect. Both drugs are associated with several drawbacks, such as reduced bioavailability and a short half-life time (Pio), as well as instability and poor water solubility (Cur), which limit their therapeutic use. In order to overcome these disadvantages, new co-delivery (Pio and Cur) chitosan-based nanoparticles (CS-Pio-Cur NPs) were developed and compared with simple NPs (CS-Pio/CS-Cur NPs). The NPs were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition, the entrapment efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC), as well as the release profile, of the APIs (Pio and Cur) from the CS-APIs NPs in simulated fluids (SGF, SIF, and SCF) were also assessed. All the CS-APIs NPs presented a small particle size (PS) (211.6-337.4 nm), a proper polydispersity index (PI) (0.104 and 0.289), and a positive zeta potential (ZP) (21.83 mV-32.64 mV). Based on the TEM results, an amorphous state could be attributed to the CA-APIs NPs, and the TEM analysis showed a spherical shape with a nanometric size for the CS-Pio-Cur NPs. The FT-IR spectroscopy supported the successful loading of the APIs into the CS matrix and proved some interactions between the APIs and CS. The CS-Pio-Cur NPs presented increased or similar EE (85.76% ± 4.89 for Cur; 92.16% ± 3.79 for Pio) and LC% (23.40% ± 1.62 for Cur; 10.14% ± 0.98 for Pio) values in comparison with simple NPs, CS-Cur NPs (EE = 82.46% ± 1.74; LC = 22.31% ± 0.94), and CS-Pio NPs (EE = 93.67% ± 0.89; LC = 11.24% ± 0.17), respectively. Finally, based on the release profile results, it can be appreciated that the developed co-delivery nanosystem, CS-Pio-Cur NPs, assures a controlled and prolonged release of Pio and Cur from the polymer matrix along the GI tract.