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Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease mainly affecting the colon and remains a challenging disease to manage clinically with its relapsing-remitting course. Traditional treatments for this disease showed some drawbacks, including systemic toxicity and ineffective targeting of the affected colon areas. This article introduces a unique treatment method that uses mesalazine (MSZ)-loaded TPP/Chitosan nanoparticles (MSZNP)-embedded into bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogels (MSZNPH) for targeted intrarectal medication delivery. Additionally, conventional MSZ was integrated into BSA hydrogel (MSZH), and then, MSZH, MSZNP, and MSZNPH were characterized and compared with an emphasis on encapsulation efficiency, drug release profile, and hydrogel swelling behavior. Our findings show that MSZNPH composite technology may improve targeted administration and prolonged release of MSZ, indicating a promising new route for UC therapy with the potential to improve patient adherence and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protection of drug molecules from digestive enzymes and providing their controlled release at the site of intestinal inflammation are the most important aims of oral nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs). Encapsulation and controlled release of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), which is a well-known anti-inflammatory drug, for effective treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were aimed in this study. For the preparation of core-shell structured NDDSs, 5-ASA loaded sodium alginate (Na-Alg) cores with negative surface charge were prepared by calcium chloride crosslinking of Na-Alg and subsequently coating with quaternized inulin (QIn) via Coulomb interaction. As a shell layer, QIn was separately synthesized by quaternization of inulin with glycidyl trimethylammonium chloride (GTMAC). While the crosslinked Na-Alg core is responsible for the protection of 5-ASA from acidic pH in stomach, quaternized inulin shell, known to be highly mucoadhesive, was implemented for digestion by the intestinal flora providing controlled release of 5-ASA at inflammation site of small and/or large intestine. Characterization of NDDSs was carried out using GPC, FT-IR, 1H-NMR and SEM techniques. Ideal slow release of 5-ASA was obtained with the from spherical particles having core and shell sizes of 84-100 and 156-198 nm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels have been widely used as drug delivery systems for scaffold production (in different soft and hard tissue engineering, including bones), thanks to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. In addition to the possibility of synthesizing a wide range of hydrogels from various natural and synthetic polymers, they are suitable for scaffold production. Moreover, they can have antimicrobial, antitumor and analgesic functions due to their intrinsic properties or through addition of proper biologically active agents. In this article, different types of hydrogels are reviewed alongside their application areas. Different methods are applied for the preparation of hydrogels and their compositions, and are strongly correlated with the morphological and mechanical properties of the synthesized hydrogels, which had a great influence on the performances of the respective scaffolds. The most effective ways to produce the desired scaffolds are mold casting, especially, 3D printing and electrospinning due to the ability to manipulate and control the shape and size of the desired scaffold as well as their microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]