A hydrogel system based on a lactose-modified chitosan for viscosupplementation in osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease affecting joint functionality and often managed with hyaluronic acid (HA) administration. In this study, a hydrogel based on a lactose-modified chitosan (CTL) reticulated with boric acid has been developed as a viscosupplement for OA treatment. The rheological characterization allowed to identify a composition whose properties were in line with those of commercial products (in the order of tens of Pascal). The selected CTL-hydrogel showed biocompatibility and antioxidant activity in vitro, and it did not influence cytokines release by macrophages. Degradation studies carried out over 24 h pointed out its higher resistance to chemical degradation with respect to HA samples. Overall, this study underlines the advantages of the CTL-hydrogel to address the treatment of OA and shed light on an innovative application of CTL polymer, which is one of the main component of the proposed hydrogel system and not used in mixture with other molecules.