Controlled delivery of chalcone via biopolyester nanohybrid

Abstract

In recent years, biodegradable, biodegradable polymers have received great attention especially in medical applications and have begun to replace traditional petroleum-based synthetic polymers. Durable polymeric materials with superior physical, mechanical and chemical properties are highly demanded for medical applications. It is crucial that these materials can survive and perform in the harsh conditions of the human body, such as very low or very high pH environments and mechanical stress. One approach to manufacturing such advanced medical devices is the use of hybrid polymeric materials. In simple terms, a hybrid polymer is material consisting of two compartments, one of which is a natural or synthetic polymer, interacting with each other at the molecular level. The formation of an organic/inorganic hybrid system allows us to take advantage of the advantageous properties of each component or to create enhanced properties, sometimes synergistically. Especially in drug delivery and controlled release applications, several inorganic materials such as iron oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, mesoporous silica and various types of clay are widely used either individually or in combination with polymers. These inorganic materials are preferred because of their small particle sizes and improved optical, electrical and mechanical properties. Despite the superior properties of inorganic materials, the use of such inorganic particles as drug carriers has some drawbacks. The main disadvantage is that they require surface modifications to ensure stability and good dispersion. Generally, these inorganic particles are used in drug delivery applications by coating or grafting with biodegradable and biocompatible polymers or forming composites. This approach also increases the biocompatibility of particles, which is one of the key features in the development of successful drug delivery system. These polymers can be synthetic or natural, and the most commonly used polymers in organic/inorganic hybrid systems for medical applications are polycaprolactone, polyvinyl alcohol, poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide), polyethylene glycol. Organic/inorganic hybrid systems developed with a polymer and inorganic particles can be classified under two main groups depending on the interactions between the two components. In Class 1 hybrid systems, inorganic particles are trapped or encapsulated in the polymer matrix by weak intermolecular forces such as Van der Waals, electrostatic interactions, and hydrogen bonding. Class 2 organic/inorganic hybrid system is formed by covalent or ionic bonding between organic and inorganic components. This covalent bonding can be formed by two different approaches: polymer in situ synthesis in the presence of inorganic particles, in situ formation of inorganic material, or a combination of polymer and inorganic material, both of which are produced ex situ. Interface characteristic is an important factor that changes the characteristics of the developed hybrid system. PCL has high biocompatibility as its degradation products can be metabolized in the body or excreted directly from the body. Because of its biodegradability and biocompatibility, PCL has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in medical applications. PCL-based materials have been successfully used in bone tissue regeneration, skin tissue engineering and vascular tissue engineering applications. In addition, several drug release studies using PCL-based drug delivery systems have been reported. PCL can be synthesized both chemically and enzymatically via ring-opening polymerization (ROP). Industrially, tin octoate is used as a metallic catalyst. Metallic catalysts operate at high temperature and pressure. Also, the end product may be toxic due to unremoved metallic residue, thus reducing the chances of PCL's medical applications. On the other hand, enzymes are non-toxic and can catalyze reactions in milder conditions. Lipase enzymes catalyze the polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL). Drug delivery system (DDS) designs improve drug pharmacokinetics and biodistribution and provide a sustained release profile. DDS provides some exceptional properties compared to conventional drug formulations. The major disadvantage of active substances used in the treatment of diseases is that some molecules agglomerate in body fluids due to their hydrophobic character. Conventional drug formulations provide a solution to this complexity by using appropriate additives. However, these additives can have adverse effects on their intended site of action. The drug carrier used in such designs also protects the targeted area from the toxic effects of active molecules by controlling the dosage and keeping it below the toxic limit. Another function of the carrier material is to protect active molecules from premature degradation and rapid degradation by body metabolism. Smart drug delivery systems (SDDS) are systems designed and developed to deliver active substances to the desired site of action and to release them when stimulated by a physical or chemical change. The main purpose of using SDDS is to control the release kinetics so that the active material can be delivered to the desired site of action without causing any side effects to the non-targeted sites. Controlled release of the active ingredient is usually provided by stimuli-responsive polymers. Such polymers can undergo structural changes when exposed to different physical conditions that facilitate drug release. These changes in the physical environment, or 'stimulants', can be light radiation, temperature, pH, and magnetic stimuli. Chalcones are open-chain molecules naturally found in plants. Their chemical structure consists of two aromatic rings with a three-carbon α,β-unsaturated carbonyl system between them. The chemical structure of chalcones can be varied by adding functional groups to aromatic rings. Trans-chalcone (TC) has attracted attention in recent years in terms of its biological activities, due to its abundance in nature, its preparation and its simple structure. TC has been proven to have anticancer activity against several types. The anti-leishmania activity of trans-chalcone has been widely studied. TC is also anti-inflammatory and acts by reducing oxidative stress caused by various inflammatory diseases. However, there are limitations to the clinical use of TC, mainly due to its water-insoluble and thus low bioavailability. TC is a plant-based chemical, so its toxicity in the body is relatively low compared to synthetic drug molecules. However, one extremely risky aspect of TC accumulation in the body is that TC is a proestrogen. TC is metabolically activated to many other chemicals. These compounds have been shown to have estrogenic activity. Many adverse health effects may occur in mammals due to this estrogenic activity of xenobiotic compounds, such as precocious puberty in females, obesity, decreased sperm count, changes in reproductive organs and sexual behavior, and an increase in certain types of cancer. Therefore, it is very important to control the dosage of TC therapy and prevent the accumulation of TC molecules in the body. This study aimed to synthesize a new hybrid polymer based on PCL and silica particles with low crystallinity and hydrophilic character. The synthesis reaction was in situ ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica Lipase B. In this study, the free form of Candida antarctica Lipase B was immobilized on rice husk ash by physical adsorption. The specificity and stability of CALB were increased by providing enzyme immobilization. The support material on which the enzyme was immobilized was first prepared by burning rice husks in an oven at 650 °C for 6 hours. The produced RHA is a material with a high silica content, which plays a very important role in the formation of the nanohybrid system in the next steps. In order to add functional groups that will facilitate enzyme adsorption to the RHA surface, the surface was modified using four different organosilane compounds, 3-APTES, 3-APTMS, 3-GPTMS and 3-TMSPDA, before enzyme immobilization. Results from the analysis of TGA curves found that different organosilane compounds behave differently. Surface modification percentages were calculated as 1.2%, 0.8%, 3.7% and 10.1% for 3-APTES, 3-APTMS, 3-GPTMS and 3-TMSPDA, respectively. This reaction took place through the –OH groups of RHA and the methoxy or ethoxy groups of the silanization agents used, and Si-O-Si bonds were formed. After CALB immobilization on surface modified RHA, the resulting catalytic systems were used to catalyze the ROP of ε-caprolactone and to synthesize PKL-based nanohybrid systems in situ. During this reaction, short PCL chains were grafted from the free –OH groups of surface-modified RHA as well as the long, aliphatic chains of pure PCL. Therefore, it is very important to keep the surface modification at an optimum level in order to achieve PCL grafting from silica. Evidence from this analysis shows that increasing the percentage of silanization by a given amount increases the grafting efficiency. Previous studies suggest an inverse relationship between PCL chain length and the number of surface Si-OH groups. The findings of this study are in line with those of previous studies that suggested the role of silanol groups as co-initiators for the polymerization reaction resulting in a high number of growing chains. A significant decrease in the percentage of crystallinity was observed for all nanohybrid samples, which was associated with low molecular weight and inhibition of crystal formation by silica in the nanohybrids. Also increased glass transition temperature due to restricted mobility caused by grafted PCL. PCL-based nanohybrids were hydrophilic. The hydrophilic character of nanohybrids can markedly increase the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drug molecules. The second aim of this study is to develop TC-loaded microspheres with O/W emulsion and nanospheres with interfacial polymer deposition method and to investigate the loading efficiency and in vitro release behavior.PCL-based nanohybrids synthesized in the first part of this study were used as polymeric carriers in these drug delivery systems. The result of this research showed that there are optimum microsphere formulations with 60-75% encapsulation efficiency. One of the more important findings from this study is that TC release was prolonged in a controlled manner to 22-57 days. It is an important property of our hydrophilic microspheres as it can increase the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble TC. Similar results were obtained with TC-loaded nanospheres produced by interfacial polymer deposition or nano-deposition method. Higher encapsulation efficiency (80-83%) was obtained with nanospheres. TC release from the nanosphere formulation was increased relative to the microsphere formulations; cumulative emissions reached 83-90%. The nanospheres showed pH-dependent release behavior; the acidity of the release medium increased the release. The TC release has been extended to 28 days under neutral conditions. Water contact angle measurements also revealed the hydrophilic character of the nanospheres.