In Vitro Effectiveness of Microspheres Based on Silk Sericin and Chlorella vulgaris or Arthrospira platensis for Wound Healing Applications

Abstract

Some natural compounds have recently been widely employed in wound healing applications due to their biological properties. One such compound is sericin, which is produced by Bombix mori, while active polyphenols, polysaccharides and proteins are synthetized by Chlorella vulgaris and Arthrospira platensis microalgae. Our hypothesis was that sericin, as an optimal bioactive polymeric carrier for microencapsulation process, could also improve the regenerative effect of the microalgae. A solvent-free extraction method and spray drying technique were combined to obtain five formulations, based on algal extracts (C. vulgaris and A. platensis, Chl and Art, respectively) or silk sericin (Ser) or their mixtures (Chl-Ser and Art-Ser). The spray drying was a suitable method to produce microspheres with similar dimensions, characterized by collapsed morphology with a rough surface. Art and Art-Ser showed higher antioxidant properties than other formulations. All microspheres resulted in cytocompatibility on fibroblasts until 1.25 mg/mL and promoted cell migration and the complete wound closure; this positive effect was further highlighted after treatment with Art and Art-Ser. To our surprize the combination of sericin to Art did not improve the microalgae extract efficacy, at least in our experimental conditions.

Effect of Microalgae Incorporation on Quality Characteristics and Functional and Antioxidant Capacities of Ready-to-Eat Fish Burgers Made from Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

“…The rise in scavenging of free radicals could be attributed to an increase in pigment [32] and polysaccharide [36,37] content, which plays an important role in the protection of the body's cells and molecules from oxidative stress and in cancer chemoprevention. For example, Chlorella species are known to contain several types of polysaccharides, including β-1,3-glucan, an active free-radical scavenger [38]. In addition, many previous studies found that Isochrysis galbana was rich in polysaccharides, with content up to 25% (dry cell weight) [36].…”

Polydopamine-Assisted Silver Nanoparticle Self-Assembly on Sericin/Agar Film for Potential Wound Dressing Application

“…They also showed that sericin microspheres loaded with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) blockers contribute to the down-regulation of cytokines [ 10 ]. In addition, a great deal of research on sericin and silk fibroin-based biomaterials, including the use of silk fibroin microspheres as a promoting wound healing material or a local coagulant [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], and sericin as a natural carrier for drug delivery, has been documented [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, sericin contains a large amount of random coil structures, resulting in the formation of amorphous and brittle sericin materials which are not suitable for biomaterial application [ 17 ].…”

Treatment with Modified Extracts of the Microalga Planktochlorella nurekis Attenuates the Development of Stress-Induced Senescence in Human Skin Cells

“…There is a limited number of studies reporting the promigratory and wound healing effects of Chlorella sp. extracts in vitro and in vivo [29][30][31]. Chlorella vulgaris dressing promoted wound closure and minimized the formation of scar tissue during the healing process compared to the control wounds created on the dorsal surface of rats [29].…”

“…had beneficial effects on skin lesions in mice [30]. The wound healing potential of Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis extract has also been compared to the wound healing potential of Chlorella vulgaris extract using human fibroblasts as a cellular model [31]. It has been concluded that Arthrospira extract stimulated wound closure more efficiently than Chlorella extract [31].…”