Selenium Nanoparticles-Embedded Chitosan Microspheres and Their Effects Upon Alcohol-Induced Gastric Mucosal Injury in Rats: Rapid Preparation, Oral Delivery, and Gastroprotective Potential of Selenium Nanoparticles

• Main Authors: Bai K, Hong B, Tan R, He J, Hong Z
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Nanomedicine
• Subjects: selenium nanoparticles; gastric mucosal injury; gastroprotection; antioxidant
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/selenium-nanoparticles-embedded-chitosan-microspheres-and-their-effect-peer-reviewed-article-IJN

Kaikai Bai,1,2,* Bihong Hong,1,2,* Ran Tan,1,2 Jianlin He,1,2 Zhuan Hong1,2 1Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, Republic of China; 2Technical Innovation Center for Utilization of Marine Biological Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Kaikai BaiThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, No. 184, Daxue Road, Siming District, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: Selenium (Se) is an indispensable trace element required for animals and human beings, whereas Se-deficiency can accelerate the development of acute gastric injury induced by over-consumption of alcohol. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), as a special Se-supplement with favorable properties and unique bioactivities, are expected to play a passive role in gastroprotection. To the best of our knowledge, the gastroprotective potential of SeNPs is unknown and also, a rapid preparation of orally stable SeNPs available for prospective commercial application in the clinic is needed. Thus, SeNPs-embedded chitosan microspheres (SeNPs-CM) were developed to deliver SeNPs, and their gastroprotective potential was evaluated.Results: Herein, a rapid, eco-friendly and economic preparation process, composed of synthesis of SeNPs decorated by chitosan (CS), purification of CS-SeNPs by ultra-filtration (UF) and spray-drying of the purified CS-SeNPs, was introduced to prepare SeNPs-CM. The uniformly distributed SeNPs with a nanosize range of 60 nm were loaded into CS-microspheres, and they could be released from the microspheres in gastric conditions. In addition, SeNPs-CM were safer than selenite in terms of Se dose, with a LD50 of around 8-fold of that of selenite, and it could efficiently enhance the Se retention in Se-deficient Wistar rats. Furthermore, SeNPs-CM pre-treatment might significantly attenuate the ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage, based on histological evaluation. It might be partly attributed to the systematic antioxidant activities of SeNPs-CM, reflected by the reduction in lipid peroxidation, the augmentation in antioxidant enzymatic activity as well as decreasing aggressive nitric oxides (NO).Conclusion: SeNPs-CM could be taken into consideration as a prospective Se-supplement for the oral delivery of SeNPs, with prominent gastroprotective effect against ethanol-induced mucosal injury.Keywords: selenium nanoparticles, gastric mucosal injury, gastroprotection, antioxidant