Massimiliano Borgogna

Chitosan nanoparticles: preparation, size evolution and stability.

PURPOSE Characterisation of chitosan-tripolyphosphate nanoparticles is presented with the aim of correlating particle shape and morphology, size distribution, surface chemistry, and production automatisation with preparation procedure, chitosan molecular weight and loaded protein. METHODS Nanoparticles were prepared by adding drop wise a tripolyphosphate-pentasodium solution to chitosan solutions under stirring. Trehalose, mannitol and polyethylene-glycol as bioprotectants were used to prevent particle aggregation and to reduce mechanical stress during freezing and drying processes. RESULTS As a novel result, time evolution of the particle size distribution curve showed the presence of a bimodal population composed of a fraction of small particles and of a second fraction of larger particles attributed to the rearrangement of particles after the addition of tripolyphosphate. Storage for 4 weeks resulted in a slight increase in average size, due to the continuous rearrangement of small particles. Improvement of nanoparticle stability after lyophilisation and spray-drying was observed in the presence of all bioprotectants. Trehalose was the best protectant for both methods. Finally, in vivo tests using chick embryos assessed the biocompatibility of chitosan, tripolyphosphate and the nanoparticles. CONCLUSION The simple ionotropic gelation method with low-MW chitosan was effective in achieving reproducible nanoparticles with the desired physico-chemical and safety characteristics.

Adhesive and sealant interfaces for general surgery applications.

The main functions of biological adhesives and sealants are to repair injured tissues, reinforce surgical wounds, or even replace common suturing techniques. In general surgery, adhesives must match several requirements taking into account clinical needs, biological effects, and material features; these requirements can be fulfilled by specific polymers. Natural or synthetic polymeric materials can be employed to generate three-dimensional networks that physically or chemically bind to the target tissues and act as hemostats, sealants, or adhesives. Among them, fibrin, gelatin, dextran, chitosan, cyanoacrylates, polyethylene glycol, and polyurethanes are the most important components of these interfaces; various aspects regarding their adhesion mechanisms, mechanical performance, and resistance to body fluids should be taken into account to choose the most suitable formulation for the target application. This review aims to describe the main adhesives and sealant materials for general surgery applications developed in the past decades and to highlight the most important aspects for the development of future formulations.

Marine Polysaccharides in Microencapsulation and Application to Aquaculture: “From Sea to Sea”

This reviews main objective is to discuss some physico-chemical features of polysaccharides as intrinsic determinants for the supramolecular structures that can efficiently provide encapsulation of drugs and other biological entities. Thus, the general characteristics of some basic polysaccharides are outlined in terms of their conformational, dynamic and thermodynamic properties. The analysis of some polysaccharide gelling properties is also provided, including the peculiarity of the charged polysaccharides. Then, the way the basic physical chemistry of polymer self-assembly is made in practice through the laboratory methods is highlighted. A description of the several literature procedures used to influence molecular interactions into the macroscopic goal of the encapsulation is given with an attempt at classification. Finally, a practical case study of specific interest, the use of marine polysaccharide matrices for encapsulation of vaccines in aquaculture, is reported.

Polysaccharide-based networks from homogeneous chitosan-tripolyphosphate hydrogels: synthesis and characterization.

Polysaccharide networks, in the form of hydrogels and dried membranes based on chitosan and on the cross-linker tripolyphosphate (TPP), were developed using a novel approach. TPP was incorporated into chitosan by slow diffusion to favor a controlled gelation. By varying chitosan, TPP, and NaCl concentration, transition from inhomogeneous to homogeneous systems was achieved. Rheology and uniaxial compression tests enabled to identify the best performing hydrogel composition with respect to mechanical properties. FTIR, (31)P NMR, and spectrophotometric methods were used to investigate the interaction chitosan-TPP, the kinetics of phosphates diffusion during the dialysis and the amount of TPP in the hydrogel. A freeze-drying procedure enabled the preparation of soft pliable membranes. The lactate dehydrogenase assay demonstrated the biocompatibility of the membranes toward fibroblasts. Overall, we devised a novel approach to prepare homogeneous macroscopic chitosan/TPP-based biomaterials with tunable mechanical properties and good biocompatibility that show good potential as novel polysaccharide derivatives.

Silver-containing antimicrobial membrane based on chitosan-TPP hydrogel for the treatment of wounds

Treatment of non-healing wounds represents hitherto a severe dilemma because of their failure to heal caused by repeated tissue insults, bacteria contamination and altered physiological condition. This leads to face huge costs for the healthcare worldwide. To this end, the development of innovative biomaterials capable of preventing bacterial infection, of draining exudates and of favoring wound healing is very challenging. In this study, we exploit a novel technique based on the slow diffusion of tripolyphosphate for the preparation of macroscopic chitosan hydrogels to obtain soft pliable membranes which include antimicrobial silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) stabilized by a lactose-modified chitosan (Chitlac). UV–Vis and TEM analyses demonstrated the time stability and the uniform distribution of AgNPs in the gelling mixture, while swelling studies indicated the hydrophilic behavior of membrane. A thorough investigation on bactericidal properties of the material pointed out the synergistic activity of chitosan and AgNPs to reduce the growth of S. aureus, E. coli, S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa strains and to break apart mature biofilms. Finally, biocompatibility assays on keratinocytes and fibroblasts did not prove any harmful effects on the viability of cells. This novel technique enables the production of bioactive membranes with great potential for the treatment of non-healing wounds.

Chitosan-pectin hybrid nanoparticles prepared by coating and blending techniques.

The preparation of chitosan nanoparticles in combination with pectins, as additional mucoadhesive biopolymers, was investigated. Pectins from apple and from citrus fruit were considered; polygalacturonic acid was taken as a reference. Tripolyphosphate was used as an anionic cross-linker. Two different techniques were compared, namely the coating and the blending. Coated nanoparticles (NPs) in the ratio pectin:NPs from 2:1 to 5:1 evidenced that the size of NPs increased as the amount of pectin (both from apple and citrus fruit) was increased. In particular, for NPs coated with pectin from citrus fruit the size ranges from 200 to 260nm; while for NPs coated with pectin from apple the size ranges from 330 to 450nm. A minimum value of Z-potential around -35mV was obtained for the ratio pectin:NPs 4:1, while further addition of pectin did not decrease the Z-potential. Also blended NPs showed a dependence of the size on the ratio of the components: for a given ratio pectin:tripolyphosphate the size increases as the fraction of chitosan increases; for a low ratio chitosan:pectin a high amount of tripolyphosphate was needed to obtain a compact structure. The effect of the additional presence of loaded proteins in chitosan-pectin nanoparticles was also investigated, since proteins contribute to alter the electrostatic interactions among charged species. FT-IR and DSC characterization are presented to confirm the interactions between biopolymers. Finally, the biocompatibility of the used materials was assessed by the chorioallantoic membrane assay, confirming the safety of the materials.

Hyaluronan delivery by polymer demixing in polysaccharide-based hydrogels and membranes for biomedical applications

Alginate-based membranes containing hyaluronic acid (HA) were manufactured by freeze-drying calcium-reticulated hydrogels. The study of the distribution of the two macromolecules within the hydrogel enabled to highlight a polymer demixing mechanism that tends to segregate HA in the external parts of the constructs. Resistance and pliability of the membranes were tuned, while release and degradation studies enabled to quantify the diffusion of both polysaccharides in physiological solution and to measure the viable lifetime of the membranes. Biological studies in vitro proved that the liquid extracts from the HA-containing membranes stimulate wound healing and that fibroblasts are able to colonize the membranes. Overall, such novel alginate-HA membranes represent a promising solution for several medical needs, in particular for wound treatment, giving the possibility to provide an in situ administration of HA from a resorbable device.

Biophysical functionality in polysaccharides: from Lego-blocks to nano-particles

The objective of the paper is to show the very important biophysical concepts that have been developed with polysaccharides. In particular, an attempt will be made to relate “a posteriori” the fundamental aspects, both experimental and theoretical, with some industrial applications of polysaccharide-based materials. The overview of chain conformational aspects includes relationships between topological features and local dynamics, exemplified for some naturally occurring carbohydrate polymers. Thus, by using simulation techniques and computational studies, the physicochemical properties of aqueous solutions of polysaccharides are interpreted. The relevance of conformational disorder–order transitions, chain aggregation, and phase separation to the underlying role of the ionic contribution to these processes is discussed. We stress the importance of combining information from analysis of experimental data with that from statistical–thermodynamic models for understanding the conformation, size, and functional stability of industrially important polysaccharides. The peculiar properties of polysaccharides in industrial applications are summarized for the particularly important example of nanoparticles production, a field of growing relevance and scientific interest.

Enhanced bioadhesivity of dopamine-functionalized polysaccharidic membranes for general surgery applications

UNLABELLED An emerging strategy to improve adhesiveness of biomaterials in wet conditions takes inspiration from the adhesive features of marine mussel, which reside in the chemical reactivity of catechols. In this work, a catechol-bearing molecule (dopamine) was chemically grafted onto alginate to develop a polysaccharide-based membrane with improved adhesive properties. The dopamine-modified alginates were characterized by NMR, UV spectroscopy and in vitro biocompatibility. Mechanical tests and in vitro adhesion studies pointed out the effects of the grafted dopamine within the membranes. The release of HA from these resorbable membranes was shown to stimulate fibroblasts activities (in vitro). Finally, a preliminary in vivo test was performed to evaluate the adhesiveness of the membrane on porcine intestine (serosa). Overall, this functionalized membrane was shown to be biocompatible and to possess considerable adhesive properties owing to the presence of dopamine residues grafted on the alginate backbone. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE This article describes the development of a mussels-inspired strategy for the development of an adhesive polysaccharide-based membrane for wound healing applications. Bioadhesion was achieved by grafting dopamine moieties on the structural component on the membrane (alginate): this novel biomaterial showed improved adhesiveness to the intestinal tissue, which was demonstrated by both in vitro and in vivo studies. Overall, this study points out how this nature-inspired strategy may be successfully exploited for the development of novel engineered biomaterials with enhanced bioadhesion, thus opening for novel applications in the field of general surgery.

Inkjet printing of Chitlac-nanosilver--a method to create functional coatings for non-metallic bone implants.

Biostable fiber-reinforced composites, based on bisphenol-A-dimethacrylate and triethyleneglycoldimethacrylate thermoset polymer matrix reinforced with E-glass fibers have been successfully used in cranial reconstructions and the material has been approved for clinical use. As a further refinement of these implants, antimicrobial, non-cytotoxic coatings on the composites were created by an immersion procedure driven by strong electrostatic interactions. Silver nanoparticles (nAg) were immobilized in lactose-modified chitosan (Chitlac) to prepare the bacteriostatic coatings. Herein, we report the use of inkjet technology (a drop-on-demand inkjet printer) to deposit functional Chitlac-nAg coatings on the thermoset substrates. Characterization methods included scanning electron microscopy, scanning white light interferometry and electro-thermal atomic absorption spectroscopy. Inkjet printing enabled the fast and flexible functionalization of the thermoset surfaces with controlled coating patterns. The coatings were not impaired by the printing process: the kinetics of silver release from the coatings created by inkjet printing and conventional immersion technique was similar. Further research is foreseen to optimize printing parameters and to tailor the characteristics of the coatings for specific clinical applications.