title: Exploiting a new glycerol-based copolymer as a route to wound healing: Synthesis, characterization and biocompatibility assessment.
abstract: The use of biocompatible materials based on naturally derived monomers plays a key role in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In this paper we describe the synthesis of a new low molecular weight copolymer, based on glycerol and l-tartaric acid, useful to develop biocompatible dermal patches with drug delivery properties. The copolymer's chemical composition was assessed by FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), (1)H NMR ((1)H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), while its molecular weight distribution was estimated by SEC (size exclusion chromatography). Copolymer thermal properties were studied by TGA (thermogravimetric analysis). Biological evaluations by MTT assay and SEM (scanning electron microscopy) observations performed with murine fibroblasts and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) revealed a good compatibility of the proposed copolymer. Ciprofloxacin was selected as model drug and its release was evaluated by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography), showing that the new copolymer supplied promising results as drug delivery system for wound healing applications. Furthermore, investigations on Skin-Mesenchymal stem cells (S-MSCs) behaviour and gene expression showed that the copolymer and its combination with ciprofloxacin did not affect their stemness. In this regard, the fabrication of dermal patches with new, low cost materials for local treatment of skin infections represents an attractive strategy in order to bypass the worrying side effects of systemic antibiotic therapy. Overall, the performed physico-chemical characterization, drug release test and biological evaluations showed that this new copolymer could be a promising tool for the in situ delivery of bioactive molecules during skin lesions treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy. Electronic address: elvira.degiglio@uniba.it.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Giglio
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bonifacio
authors.affiliation: Jaber Innovation srl, via Calcutta 8, 00100 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cometa
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vona
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Tronto 10/a, 60020 Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mattioli-Belmonte
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Tronto 10/a, 60020 Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dicarlo
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Str. Prov. per Casamassima Km 3, ValenzanoBari, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ceci
authors.affiliation: Synchimia srl, Spin-off of University of Bari Aldo-Moro, Via Orabona, 4, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fino
authors.affiliation: CNR-ICCOM Bari, Via Orabona, 4, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cicco
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Farinola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002460:Cell Line; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D005990:Glycerol
keywords: Biocompatibility; Drug delivery; Fluoroquinolones; Glycerol-based copolymer; Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs); Skin lesions