Lansoprazole incorporated β-chitin-lyophilised PRF composite hydrogel for treatment of gastric ulcer

A gastric ulcer (GU) that leads to acute or persistent bleeding poses a considerable risk of fatalities. Despite their overall primacy, the current treatments for GU have major downsides of incomplete healing, antibiotic resistance, and secondary injury. To address these challenges, researchers have turned their attention to hydrogels to solve the therapeutic bottleneck of GU treatment. Based on this, we developed a β-chitin (β-ch) hydrogel incorporating Lyophilised Platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) with anti-ulcer drug Lansoprazole (Lns). The prepared hydrogel was characterized using FESEM and FT-IR. In vitro studies of all samples showed good controlled swelling behaviour and degradation rate. Incorporation of Lansoprazole (Lns) facilitates healing and promotes and gastric mucosal regeneration, potentially through its acid-suppressive effects, whereas the in vitro drug release study proved the sustained release of Lns from the prepared hydrogel. The in vitro growth factor release study using ELISA revealed a sustained release of TGFα and PDGF BB. The Lansoprazole incorporated hydrogels exhibited good antioxidant activity. Further, β-ch-L-PRF-Lns hydrogel was demonstrated to be biocompatible in nature, and enhanced cell attachment of β-ch -L-PRF-Lns hydrogel was also observed in intestinal cells (INT 407). The INT 407 cells exposed to Lns incorporated β-ch-L-PRF hydrogel showed enhanced cell migration. Therefore, this unique strategy accelerates regenerative processes, making it a possible effective therapeutic alternative for treating GU.