Potential use of Baicalin and Chitosan for wound healing nanomedicine design

MARIANA CAROLINA DISANTO; AGUSTINA ALAIMO; OSCAR E PÉREZ

CABA

Jornada; II Jornadas de Jóvenes Bionanocientíficxs (JoBioN).; 2021

IQUIBICEN-CONICET, CIBION-CONICET, INS-UNSAM e Instituto Leloir

Baicalin (BAI) is a flavonoid of natural origin, obtained from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis. Itsmedicinal use has been part of traditional Chinese forms of therapy for ancient times. It has antioxidant, antimicrobial and antitumor effects [1]. BAI is a labile compound at alkaline pH. The healing of complex wounds involves the combined action of different types of cells like fibroblasts, keratinocytes, epidermal and endothelial cells that act to promote the regeneration of new tissue [2]. Chitosan (CH) is a naturally occurring biopolymer that, like BAI, has proven effects in improving wound healing [3]. In previous works we demonstrated the beneficial effect of Argentine CH in the wound healing process through the improvement of cellular responses induced by PDGF (Platelet derived-growth factor) [4]. In this work, using cell cultures of human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) and mouse fibroblasts (3T3-L1), we aim to study the effect of these components on cell viability depending on the preparation and concentration. For this, the crystal violet technique and the analysis of microscopic images were performed. The results show that BAI at low concentrations (5-25 µM) increases the viability of fibroblasts in the presence of Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and CH has a beneficial effect at a range of 50-1000 µg/mL. However, at high concentrations of BAI (50-100 µM), a cytotoxic effect was observed by both spectrophotometric and microscopic analysis. On the other hand, at any BAI concentrations, the viability is compromised in keratinocytes in the absence of FBS. Under 10 % FBS supplementation, the pH of the culture medium is close to neutrality, while the culture medium in the absence of FBS has a pH range of 8-8.5. These results demonstrate that pH conditions are critical for the BAI-CH nanoencapsulation success. We conclude that by controlling the solution pH and the concentration of the bioactive compound, BAI could be efficiently nanoencapsulated in chitosan matrices for accelerating the wound repair process.