Farhad Mohammadi
1, Soliman Mohammadi Samani
1,2, Nader Tanideh
3, Fatemeh Ahmadi
1,2*1 Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Research Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
3 Department of Pharmacology, Stem Cell and Transgenic Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Abstract
Purpose: Cartilage
regeneration by using polymeric scaffolds is a new option for treatment of
osteoarthritis. A good scaffold for tissue engineering should copy the
characteristics of natural extracellular matrix. The purpose of this study was
to make a dosage form with proper reliability and stability for cartilage
repair.
Methods: Hybrid scaffolds
containing different ratios of hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen were prepared
and loaded with prednisolone as anti-inflammatory agent. Two different dosage
forms (lyophilized implantable disk and thermo-sensitive gels) were examined. A
scaffold of cross-linked HA was used as control. Different characterization
tests were considered including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC),
scanning electron microscopy, mechanical evaluations, and drug release.
Results: The physical and chemical performance
of hybrid-scaffolds was better than HA scaffold. Increasing the concentration
of HA and collagen improved the physical and chemical characteristics.
Regarding the mechanical properties of the hybrid scaffold, the pore size was
20-200µm, compressive modulus was 54.77±0.31 kPa, more than 1200% water uptake
was observed after 4 days, gelation temperature was 32±0.16°C, gelation time
was 2.4±0.1 min, and drug release was controlled for 5 days by Higuchi release
kinetic model.
Conclusion: It seems that this porous hybrid scaffold could be
a suitable choice in cartilage regeneration as well as a controlled-release
system for delivery of prednisolone in osteoarthritis.