Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid in Osteoarthritis and Tendinopathies: Molecular and Clinical Approaches.

Musculoskeletal diseases continue to rise on a global scale, causing significant socioeconomic impact and decreased quality of life. The most common disorders affecting musculoskeletal structures are osteoarthritis and tendinopathies, complicated orthopedic conditions responsible for major pain and debilitation. Intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) has been a safe, effective, and minimally invasive therapeutic tool for treating these diseases.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Gel Matrix (PRP-GM): Description of a New Technique.

Several musculoskeletal conditions are triggered by inflammatory processes that occur along with imbalances between anabolic and catabolic events. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous product derived from peripheral blood with inherent immunomodulatory and anabolic properties. The clinical efficacy of PRP has been evaluated in several musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoarthritis, tendinopathy, and osteonecrosis.

How centrifugation influences the recovery and soy peptone incorporation in hyaluronic acid coils from fermentation.

Hyaluronic acid from fermentation (bio-HA) is a high-added-value biopolymer with a wide range of applications in aesthetic and medical areas. Bio-HA is a capsular exopolysaccharide highly hydrophilic with a coiled structure and high negative charge density at physiological pH. Centrifugation, currently used to separate microbial cells after fermentation, should significantly affect the bio-HA interactions with the medium components.

Spinal Reflex Recovery after Dorsal Rhizotomy and Repair with Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Gel Combined with Bioengineered Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs).

Dorsal root rhizotomy (DRZ) is currently considered an untreatable injury, resulting in the loss of sensitive function and usually leading to neuropathic pain. In this context, we recently proposed a new surgical approach to treat DRZ that uses platelet-rich plasma (PRP) gel to restore the spinal reflex. Success was correlated with the reentry of primary afferents into the spinal cord.

Mitotane liposomes for potential treatment of adrenal cortical carcinoma: intestinal permeation and bioavailability.

The adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) treatment, for which mitotane (o,p'-DDD) is the drug of choice, still remains a challenge both because of the well-known solubility problems of the drug, and its serious side effects. Mitotane is currently administered as oral tablets. The loading of mitotane into nanocarriers has been suggested as a way to circumvent the low solubility of the drug and its limited oral bioavailability.

Hyaluronic acid and fibrin from L-PRP form semi-IPNs with tunable properties suitable for use in regenerative medicine.

Autologous leukocyte- and platelet-rich plasma (L-PRP) combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) has been widely used in local applications for cartilage and bone regeneration. The association between L-PRP and HA confers structural and rheological changes that differ among individual biomaterials but has not been investigated. Therefore, the standardization and characterization of L-PRP-HA are important to consider when comparing performance results to improve future clinical applications.

3D Printed Cartilage-Like Tissue Constructs with Spatially Controlled Mechanical Properties.

Developing biomimetic cartilaginous tissues that support locomotion while maintaining chondrogenic behavior is a major challenge in the tissue engineering field. Specifically, while locomotive forces demand tissues with strong mechanical properties, chondrogenesis requires a soft microenvironment. To address this challenge, 3D cartilage-like tissue is bioprinted using two biomaterials with different mechanical properties: a hard biomaterial to reflect the macromechanical properties of native cartilage, and a soft biomaterial to create a chondrogenic microenvironment.

Leukocyte-rich PRP for knee osteoarthritis: Current concepts.

Knee osteoarthritis is a major painful and debilitating orthopaedic disease affecting a large number of adult individuals on a global scale. Over the years, this severe condition has been widely studied and while many alternatives have been utilized, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) remains one of the most popular solutions among researchers and clinicians alike. While there are different formulations and techniques involved in the preparation of PRP, produced either manually or via the use of commercial kits, the presence of leukocytes in a PRP mixture is a factor that raises concern due to their well-known pro-inflammatory activity.

Production of humic acids by solid-state fermentation of in raw oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers.

Humic acids (HA) are organic macromolecules of high structural complexity and are primarily obtained from non-renewable carbon sources such as peat and coal. HA is widely used in agriculture but is known to have therapeutic properties, which are still poorly explored. Previous studies have shown the potential of biotechnological processes in the production of HA in submerged fermentation (SF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) using pre-treated fibers of oil palm of empty fruit bunch (EFB) for the cultivation of strains.

Evaluation of the Influence of Process Parameters on the Properties of Resveratrol-Loaded NLC Using 2 Full Factorial Design.

Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural antioxidant commonly found in grapes, berries, and nuts that has shown promising results in the treatment of a variety of degenerative and age-related diseases. Despite the proven beneficial results on reduction of reactive oxidant species (ROS) and on inflammatory process, RSV shows various limitations including low long-term stability, aqueous solubility, and bioavailability, restricting its applications in the medical-pharmaceutical area. To overcome these limitations, it has been applied in pharmaceutical formulations as nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC).

Centrifugation Conditions in the L-PRP Preparation Affect Soluble Factors Release and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation in Fibrin Nanofibers.

Leukocyte and platelet-rich plasma (L-PRP) is an autologous product that when activated forms fibrin nanofibers, which are useful in regenerative medicine. As an important part of the preparation of L-PRP, the centrifugation parameters may affect the release of soluble factors that modulate the behavior of the cells in the nanofibers. In this study, we evaluated the influences of four different centrifugation conditions on the concentration of platelets and leukocytes in L-PRP and on the anabolic/catabolic balance of the nanofiber microenvironment.

Hyaluronic acid behavior in oral administration and perspectives for nanotechnology-based formulations: A review.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a ubiquitous polysaccharide with diverse biological functions. Is known that in the intestinal epithelium, the exogenous HA of molar mass ≥10 Da orally administered antagonizes TLR4 overexpression resulting from dysbiosis and promotes immunomodulation in multifactorial crosstalk, thus helping to treat or to prevent injuries. As macromolecules mediate cell signaling, the three-dimensional structure of HA plays a vital role in those functions.

Nanostructured lipid carriers loaded with free phytosterols for food applications.

The objective of this study was to develop nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) with free phytosterols (FP) using conventional fats and oils. Lipid matrices (LMs) and NLCs were produced with high oleic sunflower oil, fully hydrogenated canola (CA) and crambe (CR) oils by high-pressure homogenization (HPH). The NLCs were evaluated for hydrodynamic diameter (Z-ave), polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential (ZP).

Structural Modifications and Solution Behavior of Hyaluronic Acid Degraded with High pH and Temperature.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a macromolecule with valuable benefits over its range of molar masses (MM). Degradation studies are relevant to maintain the same purity level in biomedical studies when using HA of different MM. We degraded HA via high pH and temperature and evaluated its MM, solution behavior, and structure over time.

Recovery and Purity of High Molar Mass Bio-hyaluronic Acid Via Precipitation Strategies Modulated by pH and Sodium Chloride.

The effects of ethanol/broth proportions and the number of steps at varying pH in the presence or absence of sodium chloride (NaCl) were studied as precipitation strategies for the recovery and purification of high molar mass bio-hyaluronic acid (Bio-HA). Bio-HA was synthesized by Streptococcus zooepidemicus in a culture medium containing glucose and soy peptones. A single-step precipitation was more attractive than multistep precipitation in terms of recovery and purity as well as decreased use of ethanol.

Solid lipid nanoparticles optimized by 2 factorial design for skin administration: Cytotoxicity in NIH3T3 fibroblasts.

The present study focuses on the characterization of the cytotoxic profile on NIH3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblasts of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) optimized by a 2 full factorial design for skin administration. To build up the surface response charts, a design of experiments (DoE) based on 2 independent variables was used to obtain an optimized formulation. The effect of the composition of lipid and water phases on the mean particle size (z-AVE), polydispersity index (PdI) and zeta potential (ZP) was studied.

Liposomal-based lidocaine formulation for the improvement of infiltrative buccal anaesthesia.

This study describes the encapsulation of the local anaesthetic lidocaine (LDC) in large unilamellar liposomes (LUV) prepared in a scalable procedure, with hydrogenated soybean phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol and mannitol. Structural properties of the liposomes were assessed by dynamic light scattering, nanoparticle tracking analysis and transmission electron microscopy. A modified, two-compartment Franz-cell system was used to evaluate the release kinetics of LDC from the liposomes.

Antimicrobial activity of polymyxin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (PLX-SLN): Characterization of physicochemical properties and in vitro efficacy.

Antimicrobial resistance is a current public health concern, limiting the available therapeutic options used for the treatment of common bacterial infections. The development of new drug entities via biotechnological processes is however expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, old antimicrobial agents have been recovered for clinical use.

Randomized controlled trial comparing hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma and the combination of both in the treatment of mild and moderate osteoarthritis of the knee.

This study aims at evaluating the clinical effects of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Hyaluronic Acid (HA) as individual treatments for mild to moderate Osteoarthritis (OA) and it also examines the potential synergistic effects of PRP in combination with HA. Research continues to emerge examining the potential therapeutic efficacy of HA and PRP as autologous injectable treatments for joint arthritis. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the effects of combining HA and PRP on pain and functional status in patients with OA.

Humic acids: Structural properties and multiple functionalities for novel technological developments.

Humic acids (HAs) are macromolecules that comprise humic substances (HS), which are organic matter distributed in terrestrial soil, natural water, and sediment. HAs differ from the other HS fractions (fulvic acid and humins) in that they are soluble in alkaline media, partially soluble in water, and insoluble in acidic media. Due to their amphiphilic character, HAs form micelle-like structures in neutral to acidic conditions, which are useful in agriculture, pollution remediation, medicine and pharmaceuticals.

performance of injectable chitosan-tripolyphosphate scaffolds combined with platelet-rich plasma.

This study aimed to evaluate the biological effectiveness of chitosan microparticles crosslinked with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) in combination with activated pure platelet-rich plasma (aP-PRP) as an injectable composite scaffold for growth factors release, cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. Two main novelties were addressed in the field of scaffolds in regenerative medicine: the first is the approach including simultaneously the three vertices of the proliferation triangle formed by the capabilities genic progenitor cells, conductive scaffolds and inductive growth factors, which are provided by platelet rich plasma (PRP); secondly, the approach of an injectable composite scaffolds formed by the fibrin network from aP-PRP and the chitosan microparticles crosslinked with TPP. The microparticles were prepared by vortexing the chitosan and TPP solutions.

Skin Delivery and in Vitro Biological Evaluation of Trans-Resveratrol-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Skin Disorder Therapies.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the skin delivery and in vitro biological activity of trans-resveratrol (RES)-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs). The SLNs were composed of stearic acid, poloxamer 407, soy phosphatidylcholine (SPC), an aqueous phase and 0.1% RES.

Sterilization of auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid scaffolds structured in microparticles and sponges.

This work evaluated the effects of UV irradiation, plasma radiation, steam and 70% ethanol treatments on the sterilization and integrity of auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA-ACP) scaffolds structured in microparticles and sponges aiming in vivo applications for regenerative medicine of bone tissue. The integrity of the microparticles was characterized by rheological behavior, while for the sponges, it was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The effectiveness of the sterilization treatment was verified by the number of microorganism colonies in the samples after the treatments.

Sodium alginate-cross-linked polymyxin B sulphate-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles: Antibiotic resistance tests and HaCat and NIH/3T3 cell viability studies.

Polymyxins are a group of antibiotics with a common structure of a cyclic peptide with a long hydrophobic tail. Polymyxin B sulphate (PLX) has cationic charge, which is an obstacle for the efficient loading into Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN). In the present paper, we describe an innovative method to load PLX into SLN to achieve the sustained release of the drug.

Performance of PRP associated with porous chitosan as a composite scaffold for regenerative medicine.

This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro performance of activated platelet-rich plasma associated with porous sponges of chitosan as a composite scaffold for proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The sponges were prepared by controlled freezing (-20, -80, or -196°C) and lyophilization of chitosan solutions (1, 2, or 3% w/v). The platelet-rich plasma was obtained from controlled centrifugation of whole blood and activated with calcium and autologous serum.