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Alginate Microsponges as a Scaffold for Delivery of a Therapeutic Peptide against Rheumatoid Arthritis

2023; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 13; Issue: 19 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/nano13192709

2079-4991

Daniela Ariaudo, Francesca Cavalieri, Antonio Rinaldi, Ana Aguilera, Matilde López, Hilda Garay Pérez, Ariel Santana Felipe, María del Carmen Domínguez, Odalys Ruiz, Gillian Martínez, Mariano Venanzi,

Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications

The quest for biocompatible drug-delivery devices that could be able to open new administration routes is at the frontier of biomedical research. In this contribution, porous polysaccharide-based microsponges based on crosslinked alginate polymers were developed and characterized by optical spectroscopy and nanoscopic microscopy techniques. We show that macropores with a size distribution ranging from 50 to 120 nm enabled efficient loading and delivery of a therapeutic peptide (CIGB814), presently under a phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Alginate microsponges showed 80% loading capacity and sustained peptide release over a few hours through a diffusional mechanism favored by partial erosion of the polymer scaffold. The edible and biocompatible nature of alginate polymers open promising perspectives for developing a new generation of polysaccharide-based carriers for the controlled delivery of peptide drugs, exploiting alternative routes with respect to intravenous administration.