Abstract
The present study aimed to formulate celastrol into liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNPs) through ultrasonication to enhance its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of asthma. The physiochemical characteristics, in-vitro release studies were determined along with molecular simulations. Celastrol-loaded LCNPs showed the mean particle size of 194.1 ± 9.78 nm and high entrapment efficiency of 99.1 ± 0.02%. TEM revealed cubical-like structure of the nanoparticles and in-vitro release study demonstrated sustained drug release. They also demonstrated significant activity in reducing IL-1β production, when evaluated using immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell lines (BCi-NS1.1), that may help alleviate the symptoms of asthma.
Graphical Abstract
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Acknowledgment
The authors would also like to acknowledge the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), The University of Newcastle (UoN), Newcastle, NSW, Australia, and the Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, NSW, Australia for their support with the research project.