AUTHOR=Wang Zetao , Zhong Yanping , He Si , Liang Ruiming , Liao Chuanan , Zheng Li , Zhao Jinmin TITLE=Application of the pH-Responsive PCL/PEG-Nar Nanofiber Membrane in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.859442 DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.859442 ISSN=2296-4185 ABSTRACT=

Electrospinning technology is widely used in the field of drug delivery due to its advantages of convenience, high efficiency, and low cost. To investigate the therapeutic effect of naringenin (Nar) on osteoarthritis (OA), the pH-responsive system of the polycaprolactone/polyethylene glycol-naringenin (PCL/PEG-Nar) nanofiber membrane was designed and used as drug delivery systems (DDS) in the treatment of OA. The PEG-Nar conjugate was constructed via ester linkage between mPEG-COOH and the carboxyl group of naringenin, and the PCL/PEG-Nar nanofiber membrane was prepared by electrospinning technology. When placed in the weak acid OA microenvironment, the PCL/PEG-Nar nanofiber membrane can be cleverly “turned on” to continuously release Nar with anti-inflammatory effect to alleviate the severity of OA. In this study, the construction and the application of the pH-responsive PCL/PEG-Nar nanofiber membrane drug delivery platform would throw new light on OA treatment.