Engineered chitosan/HP-β-CD hydrogel for targeted co-delivery of curcumin and berberine for the treatment of...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) presents considerable challenges in clinical treatment due to its multifaceted and complex nature. Efficacious therapy technique in developing an oral formulation that can encapsulate and deliver therapeutic drugs directly to the colon to diminish intestinal inflammation and restore the impaired intestinal barrier is of great interest. Herein, we developed a supramolecular hydrogel platform composed of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin/chitosan in which curcumin and berberine (HCD/CH-CUR-BBR) are loaded in the hydrophobic cavity of HP-β-CD. BET surface area was measured to be 198.3 m²g^- 1 with a pore diameter of 3.56 μm which improved in vitro drug release. The results demonstrate that the HCD/CH-CUR-BBR hydrogel leverages pH sensitivity to achieve sustained drug release in the colon while promoting targeted delivery to colonic tissues. Interestingly, in vitro and in vivo evaluation confirms that HCD/CH-CUR-BBR hydrogel formulation alleviates the progression of UC via downregulating IL-6 and TNF-α expression. Subsequently, in vivo anti-colitis investigation demonstrated notable enhancement in tight junction protein expression, underscoring anti-inflammatory efficiency of CUR and BBR loaded HCD/CH hydrogel. These findings indicate that the HCD/CH hydrogel infused with CUR and BBR displayed potential as an effective targeted drug delivery strategy for UC treatment.