Characterization, antioxidant activity, and biocompatibility of selenium nanoparticle-loaded thermosensitive chitosan hydrogels

Abstract

In this study, we recruited chitosan (CS) both for selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) synthesis and for the development of a thermoresponsive nanocomposite hydrogel with the addition of glycerol phosphate (GP). Considering that SeNPs are toxic at high concentrations, five different ingredients of the nanocomposite hydrogel system with low concentrations of SeNPs (1.25–20 μg/mL) were prepared. The gelation conditions, structural characteristics, and mechanical properties of SeNPs-loaded thermosensitive CS/GP hydrogels were investigated. We also evaluated their antioxidizing activities and biocompatibility of the CS/GP/SeNPs hydrogels. Our study demonstrated that the incorporation of SeNPs in the hydrogel improved its mechanical properties, antioxidant activity, and degree of swelling. According to the properties of SeNPs and CS/GP thermosensitive hydrogels, the combination of these two technologies in an appropriate manner would be a promising antioxidant system for drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Keywords:

• Chitosan
• thermosensitive hydrogel
• selenium nanoparticles
• antioxidant activity
• biomaterials

Disclosure statement

None declared.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. NSFC 51672250, 51902289, and 81950410638), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant LQ19E020010), Zhejiang International Science and Technology Cooperation Project (Grant 2019C04020), Education Department of Zhejiang (Y201840323), and the School Foundation for Innovation Teams on Biomedical Materials (Grant 11110031742002 and 18012134-Y).