Innovative Skin Product Emulsions with Enhanced Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and UV Protection Properties Containing Nanoparticles of Pure and Modified Chitosan with Encapsulated Fresh Pomegranate Juice

Abstract

In the present study, a chitosan (CS) derivative with the 2-(Methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SDAEM) zwitterionic monomer was prepared through chemical modification. The successful synthesis of CS-SDAEM was confirmed by Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopies. Its crystallinity was studied by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), while in vitro cytotoxicity and cell viability assays established its biocompatibility. Filtered fresh pomegranate juice (PJ) was loaded in nanoparticles of neat CS and its derivative via ionic gelation method. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) revealed nanoparticles sizes varying between 426 nm and 4.5 μm, indicating a size-dependence on the polymer concentration used during encapsulation. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection (LC-PDA-ESI/MS) revealed that PJ active compounds were successfully and in sufficient amounts encapsulated in the nanoparticles interior, whereas XRD indicated a crystalline structure alteration after nanoencapsulation. The resulted PJ-loaded nanoparticles were further utilized for the preparation of innovative O/W cosmetic emulsions. All produced emulsions exhibited good pH and viscosity stability for up to 90 days, while the sun protection factor (SPF) was enhanced due to the presence of the PJ. Enhanced antioxidant and antimicrobial properties due to the phenolic compounds of PJ were also observed.

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

“…These findings indicate that the newly prepared polymer is slightly more hydrophilic than the neat CS, a feature attributed to the additional reactive groups of SDAEM embedded in the CS backbone chain. This finding is in agreement with swelling results reported previously; however, it is important to note that compared to those reports, the utilization of higher amounts of SDAEM [40,51] leads to a significantly lower enhancement of CS's swelling ability, as the results in the present study show. This reduction in hydrophilicity may compromise the material's skin adhesion ability; however, in contrast to the previous reports, the obtained drug-loaded NPs, resulting from the SDAEM-modified CS, will be embedded into a thinfilm patch prepared by aliphatic polyesters (mPEG-b-PLA or PLGA), which have excellent skin adhesive properties on their own, and hence it is anticipated that the reduction in adhesion coming from the low SDAEM concentration will be compensated by the presence of the polyester matrix.…”

“…In regard to the newly derived CS-SDAEM, results showed that this is also semi-crystalline in nature, with a characteristic amorphous halo and a single broad pXRD peak at 20.1 deg. It should be noted that, compared to previous results utilizing SDAEM at higher concentrations [40,51], the resultant CS-SDAEM polymer in the present study showed a similar degree of crystallinity as compared to the neat CS, indicating that at such low concentrations, SDAEM is not adequate enough to reduce CS's ability to fold and create crystallites.…”

“…In addition, a new small peak recorded at 4.65 ppm is indicative of the methyl group, which is located next to the oxygen of the ester group of the monomer. Finally, as in previous studies using higher SDAEM concentrations [40], the absence of the SDAEM spectrum peaks at 5.80 and 6.18 ppm (corresponding to the double bonds of the monomer) is indicative of the reaction evolving between the two components (CS and SDAEM); it also provides strong evidence that all monomers have either reacted with CS or that the Soxhlet extraction purification method employed was adequate enough to remove all un-reacting SDAEM monomers.…”

“…For this reason, one promising category of materials that can modify (and enhance) the antibacterial properties of CS are the zwitterions, including the derivatives of carboxybetaine, phosphobetaine, or sulfobetaine [ 21 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. More specifically, a recently published study from our group showed that [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SDAEM)-modified CS may be successfully used to prepare innovative skin emulsions with enhanced antioxidant, antibacterial, and UV protection properties [ 40 ], indicating that the CS-SDAEM modification, proposed also herein, may be an extremely promising strategy for the preparation of LFD skin patches.…”

Malonic Acid Isolated from Pinus densiflora Inhibits UVB-Induced Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in HaCaT Keratinocytes

“…UVB radiation is a potent environmental risk factor for skin cancer and photoaging [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. When the skin is irradiated by UVB, ROS production, one of the first events to occur in skin cells, induces signaling pathways for inflammatory processes and other biochemical reactions related to oxidative cell damage [ 35 ].…”