Silk-Sericin Release from Polymeric Scaffold as Complementary Dermocosmetic Treatment for Acne

Currently, acne therapy relies not only on specific drugs but also on complementary treatments, such as dermocosmetics. Several studies have reported the use of chitosan and alginate in scaffolds for drug delivery systems. These materials can be loaded with a product that exhibits anti-acne properties such as silk sericin, a protein with antioxidant, photoprotective, and moisturizing properties. Therefore, this study proposes the development of a chitosan/alginate scaffold, loaded with sericin, to serve as a dermocosmetic platform complementing the pharmacological treatment of acne. The moisture content of the alginate and chitosan was determined as 14.7 and 21%, respectively; the ash content, which is similar for both polymers, was approximately 5%. The employed chitosan had a deacetylation degree of 82%, as determined by infrared spectrometry and corroborated by potentiometry. This technique was also used to determine the mannuronic/guluronic ratio of the alginate [M/G = 1.3] and confirm the identity of each one of the polymers in the raw materials and the resulting scaffolds. The molecular weights of alginate, chitosan, and sericin were 85, 5.1, and 57.4 kDa, respectively. The pH [6.31] and total protein concentration of the sericin solution [c(SER) = 6.1 mg/mL] were determined using UV-visible spectrophotometry. Swelling and release studies indicated that, although there were varying degrees of cross-linking and certain variables to control, the mechanism that defines the nature of both processes (otherwise complementary) is the relaxation of the polymer chains.