Article

    Enhanced Alginate Microparticles Fabricated by a Microfluidic System for Local Mesalamine Delivery to Inflammatory Bowel Disease
    Click to copy article linkArticle link copied!

    • Shima Ostovar
      Shima Ostovar
      Biotechnology Research Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 14147613131, Iran
    • Mohammad Amin Zaker
      Mohammad Amin Zaker
      Microproteomics Research Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439957131, Iran
    • Mohammad Akrami
      Mohammad Akrami
      School of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials and Medical Biomaterials Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417614411, Iran
    • Amirhossein Heidari
      Amirhossein Heidari
      Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1411718541, Iran
      Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 1941933111, Iran
    • Yekta Ghane
      Yekta Ghane
      Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1411718541, Iran
      School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran
      More by Yekta Ghane
    • Nazila Heidari
      Nazila Heidari
      Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1411718541, Iran
      School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
    • Homayoun Pishraft-Sabet
      Homayoun Pishraft-Sabet
      Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1411718541, Iran
      School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran
    • Parastou Gorovanchi
      Parastou Gorovanchi
      Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz 5165665931, Iran
    • Zeinab Salehi*
      Zeinab Salehi
      Biotechnology Research Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 14147613131, Iran
      *Email: zsalehy@ut.ac.ir
    • Vahid Bazargan*
      Vahid Bazargan
      Microproteomics Research Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439957131, Iran
      *Email: vbazargan@ut.ac.ir
    • Seyed Mohsen Ahmadi Tafti*
      Seyed Mohsen Ahmadi Tafti
      Colorectal Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1419733141, Iran
      *Email: smahmadit@sina.tums.ac.ir
    • Marco Marengo
      Marco Marengo
      Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
    Other Access Options

    Biomacromolecules

    Cite this: Biomacromolecules 2025, 26, 9, 5791–5806
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.5c00663
    Published July 24, 2025
    Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society

    Article Views

    157

    Altmetric

    2

    Citations

    -
    Learn about these metrics

    Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.

    Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.

    The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated.

    Abstract

    Click to copy section linkSection link copied!

    Mesalamine (Mes) is a first-line anti-inflammatory agent extensively used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Mes can be locally delivered using alginate-based microparticles as a pH-sensitive drug delivery system. In this study, we enhanced Alg microparticles by synthesizing an Alg-Kappa-carrageenan block copolymer using a biocompatible method with citric acid. The Alg-CA-κCar microparticles were fabricated on microfluidic chips and coated with chitosan (CS) to improve the encapsulation of Mes. FE-SEM images confirmed spherical microparticles with a narrow size distribution. TGA analysis showed better thermal stability for Alg-CA-κCar/CS microparticles compared with Alg microparticles. Alg-CA-κCar/CS microparticles achieved 73.8% drug encapsulation and demonstrated a pH-sensitive release profile with protection at pH 2 and increased release at pH 7.4. In vivo studies showed reduced pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, MPO, and IL-6 levels in treated rats. Overall, Alg-CA-κCar/CS microparticles provide a more controlled carrier for Mes, demonstrating potential in effectively treating and managing the IBD.

    Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society

    Read this article

    To access this article, please review the available access options below.

    Get instant access

    Purchase Access

    Read this article for 48 hours. Check out below using your ACS ID or as a guest.

    Cited By

    Click to copy section linkSection link copied!

    This article has not yet been cited by other publications.

    Biomacromolecules

    Cite this: Biomacromolecules 2025, 26, 9, 5791–5806
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.5c00663
    Published July 24, 2025
    Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society

    Article Views

    157

    Altmetric

    2

    Citations

    -
    Learn about these metrics

    Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.

    Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.

    The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated.