Neuroprotective Riluzole-Releasing Electrospun Implants for Spinal Cord Injury

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes paralysis due to secondary excitotoxic neuronal death from glutamate.
• Current SCI treatment involves surgery and dural repair, offering opportunities for localized drug delivery.
• Riluzole, a glutamate release inhibitor, shows neuroprotective effects in SCI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an electrospun synthetic dural substitute patch loaded with riluzole.
• To evaluate the patch's potential for localized treatment of glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in neurons.

Main Methods:

• Optimized glutamate excitotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells.
• Developed riluzole-loaded polycaprolactone patches using blend electrospinning.
• Characterized physicochemical properties and drug release kinetics.
• Assessed the pharmacological activity of eluted riluzole in vitro.

Main Results:

• Successfully encapsulated riluzole within electrospun fibers.
• Demonstrated an initial burst release followed by sustained riluzole release over 52 days.
• Confirmed that eluted riluzole counteracted glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in neuronal cells.

Conclusions:

• Riluzole-loaded dural substitute patches are feasible for localized SCI therapy.
• The patches provide sustained release of pharmacologically active riluzole.
• This approach holds clinical potential for mitigating secondary injury after spinal cord injury.