RT Journal Article
T1 PH-Sensitive Chitosan-Based Hydrogels Trap Poloxamer Micelles as a Dual-Encapsulating Responsive System for the Loading and Delivery of Curcumin
A1 Herrera Alonso, Alejandra Estefanía
A1 Rodríguez Chávez, Daniela Fernanda
A1 Toxqui Terán, Alberto
A1 Rubio Valle, José Fernando
A1 Martín Alfonso, José Enrique
A1 Longoria García, Samuel
A1 Gallardo Blanco, Hugo Leonid
A1 Sánchez Domínguez, Celia Nohemí
A1 Sánchez Domínguez, Margarita
AB PH-sensitive hydrogels are important soft biomaterials as they mimic biologicalorganisms by altering their properties in response to small pH changes in biological fluids.In this work, novel chitosan (Cs) hydrogels were developed using an innovative dualcurcumin (Cur) encapsulation system. Cur was loaded into poloxamer 407 micelles and incorporatedinto citric acid (CA) cross-linked Cs hydrogels using a central composite design.The hydrogels were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR),scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), rheologicaltests, and in vitro experiments, such as hemolysis and cytotoxicity assays. FTIR confirmedcross-linking between Cs and CA, while DSC suggested interactions between Cur-loadedmicelles and the hydrogel matrix. Rheological analysis revealed gel-like behavior, with G′consistently higher than G, and temperature influenced hydrogel properties. SEM showeda denser network when Cur-loaded micelles were incorporated, slowing Cur release. Atphysiological pH (7.4), 75% of Cur was released after 7 days, while 84% was released atpH 5.5, showing pH-responsive behavior. Cytotoxicity tests showed over 80% viability ofVERO CCL-81 cells (0.2–20 ppm hydrogel). This dual-encapsulation system provides asimple and effective platform for loading lipophilic drugs into pH-responsive hydrogels.
PB MDPI
SN 2073-4360 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-05
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25553
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25553
LA eng
NO Herrera-Alonso, A. E., Rodríguez-Chávez, D. F., Toxqui-Terán, A., Rubio-Valle, J. F., Martín-Alfonso, J. E., Longoria-García, S., Gallardo-Blanco, H. L., Sánchez-Domínguez, C. N., & Sánchez-Domínguez, M. (2025). pH-Sensitive Chitosan-Based Hydrogels Trap Poloxamer Micelles as a Dual-Encapsulating Responsive System for the Loading and Delivery of Curcumin. Polymers, 17(10), 1335. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17101335
NO This study was funded by Programa de Apoyo a la Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Científica, UANL, ProACTI 2023 and ProACTI 2024, with the grant numbers 178-MCS-2023 and 47-MCS-2024.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026