Multifunctional chitosan-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for spatiotemporally controlled codelivery of ceramide and C-phycocyanin to treat atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is an inflammatory disease associated with defective skin barrier. The co-administration of a lipid-enhancing skin barrier composed of ceramide with an anti-inflammatory agent is required to effectively treat atopic dermatitis. As atopic dermatitis treatment is affected by the dosage and frequency of medication, the development of nanoparticles that have long-term efficacy with a single dose would be advantageous. In this study, skin-sensitive chitosan nanoparticles codelivering ceramide and C-phycocyanin were developed to provide anti-inflammatory effects with no cytotoxicity, and their effect on stratum corneum formation in a rat atopic dermatitis model was examined. Analysis of the messenger RNA expression of keratinization factors demonstrated that the stratum corneum–formation effect of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles containing ceramide was similar to or higher than that of ceramide alone. Compared to the nanoparticles without C-phycocyanin, nanoparticles coated with C-phycocyanin and chitosan attenuated histamine release. In addition, despite frequent washing, the nanoparticles were well fixed to the epidermis after their administration. The results suggest that a single treatment with the combination of lipid therapy/anti-inflammatory nanoparticles is a convenient and high-efficiency means to increase stratum corneum formation in atopic dermatitis patients.

Challenges of current treatment and exploring the future prospects of nanoformulations for treatment of atopic dermatitis

“…Shin and colleagues developed chitosan nanoparticles that were skin-sensitive and delivered ceramide and C-phycocyanin to provide anti-inflammatory effects without causing cytotoxicity. They evaluated the impact of these nanoparticles on SC in a rat model of AD [ 74 ]. The study found that the effect of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles containing ceramide on SC formation, as determined by the production of keratinization factors, was similar to or higher than that of free ceramide.…”

Full biodegradable elastomeric nanocomposites fabricated by chitin nanocrystal and poly(caprolactone-diol citrate) elastomer

“…Chitin and chitosan are an attractive biomaterial for applications in tissue engineering and biomedicine. 1,2 Chitin nanocrystal (ChiNC), a product of acid hydrolysis of chitin, is an accepted, non-toxic, biocompatible, biodegradable nanofiller with a size of 150-2200 nm in length and 10-50 nm in width. [3][4][5] Owing to its high modulus (~150 GPa in longitudinal modulus and ~15 GPa in transverse modulus), the ChiNC exhibited a great ability to reinforce synthetic or natural polymeric structures, such as poly(vinyl alcohol), 6 poly(ethylene glycol), 7 alginate, 8 chitosan, 9 starch, 10 gelatin, 11 polyurethane, 12 polycaprolactone (PCL), 13 polyethylene, 14 and polylactic acid.…”