Ex-vivo evaluation of enzyme-sensitive alginate-gelatin hydrogel system in the presence of synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritis patients

Abstract

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that can appear in single or multi-joint form. If not treated in time, it will cause disability of the patient. Systemic treatments have many side effects; For this reason, local treatment such as intra-articular injection is preferred for the treatment of monoarticular arthritis. To improve the components of intra-articular injection, it is possible to attenuate the gradual release of the drug by encapsulating it in a hydrogel, which is destroyed in response to the enzymes released during the disease.Aim: Designing a hydrogel reacting to proteinase enzymes based on alginate and gelatin that releases the model drug during disease flare. Then investigating the physicochemical properties of the synthesized hydrogels and finally investigating the cytotoxicity of the hydrogels.Methods: First, sodium alginate was oxidized by click reaction and then hydrogels were synthesized with a predetermined ratio. Then, the physical properties of the hydrogels (SEM, Swelling/Degradation, Rheology, FT-IR spectra) were investigated, and to evaluate the performance of the hydrogels, the drug release profile was drawn and the cytotoxicity of the hydrogels was determined through the MTT test.Results: In the investigations, it was found that hydrogels have a porous structure and have elastic behaviour. Also, hydrogels in the presence of enzyme released the drug faster but showed less resistance to degradation, and no cytotoxicity was observed in the applied concentrations.Conclusion: Rheumatoid arthritis treatment systems based on enzyme-reactive alginate/gelatin hydrogel show promising performance for the treatment of uncontrollable single-joint arthritis. However, secondary research should be done to increase the resistance to degradation and prolong the release of the drug.