Nowadays, the need for therapeutic biomaterials displaying anti-inflammatory properties to fight against inflammation-related diseases is continuously increasing. Compact polyelectrolyte complexes (CoPECs) represent a new class of materials obtained by ultracentrifugation of a polyanion/polycation complex suspension in the presence of salt. Here, a noncytotoxic β-cyclodextrin-functionalized chitosan/alginate CoPEC was formulated, characterized, and described as a promising drug carrier displaying an intrinsic anti-inflammatory property. This new material was successfully formed, and due to the presence of cyclodextrins, it was able to trap and release hydrophobic drugs such as piroxicam used as a model drug. The intrinsic anti-inflammatory activity of this CoPEC was analyzed in vitro using murine macrophages in the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin. In this model, it was shown that CoPEC inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α and NO release and moderated the differentiation of LPS-activated macrophages. Over time, this kind of bioactive biomaterial could constitute a new family of delivery systems and expand the list of therapeutic tools available to target inflammatory chronic diseases such as arthritis or Crohn's disease.
Keywords: CoPECs; alginate; anti-inflammatory; chitosan; cyclodextrins; drug carriers; natural biomaterials.