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Hyaluronic acid-coated bovine serum albumin nanoparticles loaded with brucine as selective nanovectors for intra-articular injection

Authors Chen Z, Chen J, Wu L, Li W, Chen J, Cheng H, Pan J, Cai B

Received 29 June 2013

Accepted for publication 21 August 2013

Published 7 October 2013 Volume 2013:8(1) Pages 3843—3853

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S50721

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Zhipeng Chen,* Juan Chen,* Li Wu, Weidong Li, Jun Chen, Haibo Cheng, Jinhuo Pan, Baochang Cai

Department of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People's Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Objective: To evaluate the potential of hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (BSANPs) as a novel chondrocyte-targeting drug-delivery nanomedicine.
Methods: The HA-BSANPs were characterized by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. Fluorescence imaging was used to visualize the distribution of nanoparticles after intra-articular injection. The chondrocyte-targeting efficiency and cellular uptake mechanism of HA-BSANPs were investigated using endocytic inhibitors.
Results: HA-BSANPs were successfully prepared with HA coating the surface and amorphous drug in the core. Compared with BSANPs, HA-BSANPs exhibited improved uptake by chondrocytes through a receptor-mediated active uptake mechanism. The endocytosis process of BSANPs and HA-BSANPs involved clathrin-mediated endocytosis, caveolae-mediated endocytosis, and macropinocytosis. No apparent thickening or hyperplasia of the synovium was observed in either BSANPs or HA-BSANPs. The HA-BSANPs could reside in the articular cavity of rats for more than 14 days, which was significantly longer than BSANPs.
Conclusion: HA-BSANPs are a promising carrier for articular-related diseases due to elongated articular residence and improved chondrocytic accumulation.

Keywords: chondrocyte, intra-articular injection, hyaluronic acid, BSA, nanoparticles

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