Desenvolvimento e caracterização de andaimes de blendas de Policaprolactona/Quitosana com N-metil-D-glucamina pelo método Solution Blow Spinning para aplicação em pacientes acometidos pela leishmaniose cutânea

Abstract

The concern with rapid healing of chronic wounds, such as those observed in skin lesions caused by parasites of the leishmania genus, has become the reason why several study groups have developed high-performance dressings. This new approach to textile nanotechnology seeks to develop dressings that promote the controlled release of drugs directly at the wound site more quickly and effectively. This study aimed to develop nanofiber blends using the technique of spinning by blowing in solution (Solution Blow Spinning - SBS), from the combination of biopolymers polycaprolactone (PCL) and chitosan, with drug incorporation based on N-methyl-Dglucamine, of choice for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Initially, a solution was prepared containing a concentration of 25% (m/v) and 75% (m/v) of chitosan and PCL, respectively, diluted in 99.8% glacial acetic acid. In a second solution, under the same conditions, a drug (NMDG) at a concentration of 6.7% (w/v) was included. Both solutions were homogenized under stirring with a magnetic bar for 24 hours, at room temperature, and the solutions were transferred to a syringe coupled to an ejection pump to obtain the nanofiber. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the nanofibers. The release of NMDG from this new system was analyzed using visible light spectroscopy (UV-VIS). The production process developed in this research allowed to obtain scaffolding blends by combining PCL and chitosan biopolymers, without and with (NMDG), using the technique of spinning by blowing in solution (SBS). From the SEM analysis, it was possible to observe significant differences in the mean of nanofibers in the blend scaffolds, which presented values of 320.9 ± 93.5 nm without the drug and 365.8 ± 113.2 nm for the nanofiber with the drug (p<0.001). The FTIR characterization indicates in the fibers the presence of functional groups characteristic of each material used and produced, allowing the detection of drug incorporation with an increase of 6.2% in nanofiber transmittance. Mixing two polymers has proven to be an effective technique to obtain a new material with desirable properties, which may be relevant to optimize drug incorporation and drug delivery and targeting properties. The study also proved the effectiveness of the SBS technique for obtaining nanofibers with chitosan. Although in vitro and in vivo biological activity studies are needed to prove the biological application of nanofibers, our data point to the promising use of PCL/Chitosan nanofibers incorporated with NMDG for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.