Preparation, characterization and biological evaluation of nitric oxide releasing polymeric biomaterials

Abstract

S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) are an important class of nitric oxide (NO) donors, involved in several biological processes, such as: (i) control of blood vasodilatation, (ii) antioxidant, antitumoral and antimicrobial activities, (iii) promotion and acceleration of wound healing (iv) regeneration of skin, cartilage, mucosa and globe eye tissues. RSNOs act as NO storage in vivo preserving NO physiological activities. Recently, the combination of RSNOs and biomaterials represents a promising strategy to increase the therapeutical efficacy of RSNOs. In this context, the main purpose of this project is the preparation of RSNOs and their incorporation into nanoparticles and biocompatible hydrogels. RSNOs will be incorporated in chitosan nanoparticles, coated with hyaluronic acid, for targeting the NO-releasing nanoparticles to tumour tissues. Chitosan is a biocompatible and biodegradable biopolymer, employed in the synthesis of nanoparticles for controllable and sustainable drug release. The biopolymer hyaluronic acid has been used for coating nanoparticles to tumour targeting purposes. In addition, the project involves the incorporation of either free RSNOs or encapsulated RSNOs into thermosensitive hydrogels composed by Pluronic F-127/chitosan and chitosan based visible light crosslinkable hydrogels for biomedical applications, including skin regeneration. The project involves the preparation and characterization of NO releasing nanoparticles and hydrogels, the evaluation of the NO release profile from the biomaterials, and biological assays to evaluate and investigate the therapeutic actions of the prepared biomaterials. These new materials are expected to have great potential in biomedical applications. (AU)