Preparation of Chitosan Embedded Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth
Factor Nanoparticles as Accelerating Compounds for Skin Remodeling in
Chronic Lesions
Abstract
Chronic lesion has become a major biological burden for individual
patients and health organizations. Using nanoparticles as drug delivery
systems is remarkable nowadays. The unique properties of chitosan
without any toxicity for living creations make it a suitable option for
drug delivery. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is one of the important
agents for wound healing, cellular proliferation, extracellular matrix
formation, and skin remodeling. A combination of these properties can
accelerate the wound healing process. In this study, rh-EGF is embedded
into the chitosan nanoparticles by the Ion-gelation method.
Nanoparticles are characterized by TEM microscopy and the DLS method and
conjugation efficacy is measured by FT-IR radiation. The antibacterial
effect of manipulated nanoparticles was estimated by MIC/MBC methods.
The cytotoxicity and proliferation were measured by MTT assay on the
HFF-1 human fibroblast cell line. Migration assay was accomplished by in
vitro scratch model and the gene expression analysis for TGF-β, VEGF,
and PDGF were manipulated by the real time-PCR method. The obtained
results were considered statistically significant with P <
0.05. Obtained results illustrated no toxic effect on the HFF-1 cell
line treated with Chitosan-EGF (CS-EGF). In cellular proliferation and
migration assays, CS-EGF nanoparticles demonstrated a better effect than
free rh-EGF. For the duration of 72h of the experiment, the whole
scratch was covered by fibroblasts. The real time-PCR analysis also
showed upregulation of all TGF-β, VEGF, and PDGF genes. As CS-EGF
nanoparticles in the acceleration of the skin remodeling process showed
promising results, subsequent studies might be useful.