Casein fibres for wound healing.

The name casein is given to a family of phosphoproteins which is commonly found in milk. Until recently, this was a constituent of milk that was commonly discarded; however today, it is widely used in health supplements all over the world. In this work, a high loading (50 wt%) of casein is mixed with a solution of polycaprolactone (PCL) to produce bandage-like fibres with an average fibre diameter of 1.4 ± 0.5 µm, which would be used to cover wounds in a series of tests with diabetic rats. Mouse fibroblast cell viability tests show that the casein-loaded fibres had little cytotoxicity with over 90% observed viability. A 14-day in vivo trial involving three groups of rats, used as control (no treatment), pure PCL fibres and casein-loaded fibres, showed that the casein within the fibres contributed to a significantly more extensive healing process. Histological analysis showed increased development of granulation tissue and follicle regrowth for the casein-loaded fibres. Further analysis showed that casein-loaded fibres have significantly lower levels of TNF-α, TGF-ß IL-1ß, NF-κB and IL-6, contributing to superior healing. The results presented here show an economical and simple approach to advanced wound healing.

Oral empagliflozin-loaded tri-layer core-sheath fibers fabricated using tri-axial electrospinning: Enhanced in vitro and in vivo antidiabetic performance.

Empagliflozin (EM) was successfully loaded in polycaprolactone/poly (L-lactic acid)/polymethyl methacrylate (PCL/PLA/PMMA) fibers. In the rat ß-cell line (BRIN-BD11), the insulin expression ratio of pancreatic ß-cells was stimulated at high and low glucose by culturing with tri-layer EM-loaded fiber (EMF) for 48 h. The expression ratios of glucokinase and GLUT-2 proteins increased after EMF treatment. According to the in vitro drug release test, 97% of all drug contained in fibers was released in a controlled manner for 24 h. The pharmacokinetic test revealed that the bioavailability was improved ∼4.8-fold with EMF treatment compared to EM-powder and blood glucose level was effectively controlled for 24 h with EMF. Oral administration of EMF exhibited a better sustainable anti-diabetic activity even in the half-dosage than EM-powder in streptozotocin/nicotinamide-induced T2DM rats. The levels of GLP-1, PPAR-γ, and insulin were increased while the levels of SGLT-2 and TNF-α were decreased with EMF treatment. Also, EMF recovered the histopathological changes in the liver, pancreas, and kidney in T2DM rats and protected pancreatic ß-cells. Consequently, EMF is suggested as an unprecedented and promotive treatment approach for T2DM with a higher bioavailability and better antidiabetic effect compared to conventional dosage forms.