Chitosan/Virgin-Coconut-Oil-Based System Enriched with Cubosomes: A 3D Drug-Delivery Approach.

Simone S Silva, Luísa C Rodrigues, Emanuel M Fernandes, Diana Soares da Costa, Denise G Villalva, Watson Loh, Rui L Reis

Marine drugs 2023 Jul 06

filter terms:

Emulsion-based systems that combine natural polymers with vegetable oils have been identified as a promising research avenue for developing structures with potential for biomedical applications. Herein, chitosan (CHT), a natural polymer, and virgin coconut oil (VCO), a resource obtained from coconut kernels, were combined to create an emulsion system. Phytantriol-based cubosomes encapsulating sodium diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug, were further dispersed into CHT/VCO- based emulsion. Then, the emulsions were frozen and freeze-dried to produce scaffolds. The scaffolds had a porous structure ranging from 20.4 to 73.4 µm, a high swelling ability (up to 900%) in PBS, and adequate stiffness, notably in the presence of cubosomes. Moreover, a well-sustained release of the entrapped diclofenac in the cubosomes into the CHT/VCO-based system, with an accumulated release of 45 ± 2%, was confirmed in PBS, compared to free diclofenac dispersed (80 ± 4%) into CHT/VCO-based structures. Overall, the present approach opens up new avenues for designing porous biomaterials for drug delivery through a sustainable pathway.

Citation

Simone S Silva, Luísa C Rodrigues, Emanuel M Fernandes, Diana Soares da Costa, Denise G Villalva, Watson Loh, Rui L Reis. Chitosan/Virgin-Coconut-Oil-Based System Enriched with Cubosomes: A 3D Drug-Delivery Approach. Marine drugs. 2023 Jul 06;21(7)