Foot ulcerations are a disabling complication of diabetes and no treatment is currently available based on disease mechanisms. The protein serpin B3 (SB3) was identified as a positive biomarker of successful diabetic wound healing; therefore, its exogenous administration may promote healing. The topical administration of SB3 is challenging due to its protein nature. Physical entrapment in wet sol–gel silica can stabilize the protein’s conformation and permit its sustained delivery. However, irreversible syneresis and poor viscoelastic properties hamper wet sol–gel silica application as a semisolid vehicle. To overcome these limits, a sol–gel silica/hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) hydrogel blend was developed. SB3 entrapped in 8% SiO2 wet sol–gel silica preserved its structure, was stabilized against denaturation, and was slowly released for at least three days. Blending a silica gel with an HPMC–glycerol (metolose-G) hydrogel permitted spreadability without affecting the protein’s release kinetics. When administered in vivo, SB3 in silica/metolose-G—but not in solution or in metolose-G alone—accelerated wound healing in SB3 knockout and diabetic mouse models. The results confirmed that SB3 is a new pharmacological option for the treatment of chronic ulcers, especially when formulated in a slow-releasing vehicle. Silica–metolose-G represents a novel type of semisolid dosage form which could also be applied for the formulation of other bioactive proteins.

Semisolid Wet Sol–Gel Silica/Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose Formulation for Slow Release of Serpin B3 Promotes Wound Healing In Vivo

Albiero, Mattia
Investigation
;
Villano, Gianmarco
Investigation
;
Biasiolo, Alessandra
Investigation
;
Quarta, Santina
Investigation
;
Bernardotto, Simone
Investigation
;
Ruvoletto, Mariagrazia
Investigation
;
Fadini, Gian Paolo
Supervision
;
Pontisso, Patrizia
Supervision
;
Morpurgo, Margherita
Supervision
2022

Abstract

Foot ulcerations are a disabling complication of diabetes and no treatment is currently available based on disease mechanisms. The protein serpin B3 (SB3) was identified as a positive biomarker of successful diabetic wound healing; therefore, its exogenous administration may promote healing. The topical administration of SB3 is challenging due to its protein nature. Physical entrapment in wet sol–gel silica can stabilize the protein’s conformation and permit its sustained delivery. However, irreversible syneresis and poor viscoelastic properties hamper wet sol–gel silica application as a semisolid vehicle. To overcome these limits, a sol–gel silica/hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) hydrogel blend was developed. SB3 entrapped in 8% SiO2 wet sol–gel silica preserved its structure, was stabilized against denaturation, and was slowly released for at least three days. Blending a silica gel with an HPMC–glycerol (metolose-G) hydrogel permitted spreadability without affecting the protein’s release kinetics. When administered in vivo, SB3 in silica/metolose-G—but not in solution or in metolose-G alone—accelerated wound healing in SB3 knockout and diabetic mouse models. The results confirmed that SB3 is a new pharmacological option for the treatment of chronic ulcers, especially when formulated in a slow-releasing vehicle. Silica–metolose-G represents a novel type of semisolid dosage form which could also be applied for the formulation of other bioactive proteins.
2022
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Descrizione: Albiero et. al 2022
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3459076
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