Coaxial nanofibrous aerogel featuring porous network-structured channels for ovarian cancer treatment by sustained release of chitosan oligosaccharide

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133824
• Publication Date: 2024-07-14T05:07:35Z
• Authors: Zhimin Deng; Hua Liu; Gantao Chen; Hongbing Deng; Xiangyang Dong; Linlin Wang; Fenghua Tao; Fangfang Dai; Yanxiang Cheng
• Keywords: Coaxial; Oligosaccharide

Ovarian cancer, the deadliest gynecological malignancy, primarily treated with chemotherapy. However, systemic chemotherapy often leads to severe toxic side effects and chemoresistance. Drug-loaded aerogels have emerged as a promising method for drug delivery, as they can improve drug solubility and bioavailability, control drug release, and reduce drug distribution in non-targeted tissues, thereby minimizing side effects. In this research, chitosan oligosaccharide (COS)-loaded nanofibers composite chitosan (CS) aerogels (COS-NFs/CS) with a porous network structure were created using nanofiber recombination and freeze-drying techniques. The core layer of the aerogel has a COS loading rate of 60 %, enabling the COS-NFs/CS aerogel to significantly inhibit the migration and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells (resulting in a decrease in the survival rate of ovarian cancer cells to 33.70 % after 48 h). The coaxial fiber's unique shell-core structure and the aerogel's porous network structure enable the COS-NFs/CS aerogels to release COS steadily and slowly over 30 days, effectively reducing the initial burst release of COS. Additionally, the COS-NFs/CS aerogels exhibit good biocompatibility, degradability (only retaining 18.52 % of their weight after 6 weeks of implantation), and promote angiogenesis, thus promoting wound healing post-oophorectomy. In conclusion, COS-NFs/CS aerogels show great potential for application in the treatment of ovarian cancer.