Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations

Cellulose nanofibers gained increasing interest in the production of medical devices such as mucoadhesive nanohydrogels due to their ability to retain moisture (high hydrophilicity), flexibility, superior porosity and durability, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility. In this work, we...

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Main Authors: Ioana Popa-Tudor, Naomi Tritean, Ștefan-Ovidiu Dima, Bogdan Trică, Marius Ghiurea, Anisoara Cimpean, Florin Oancea, Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei
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Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Gels
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/1/37
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author Ioana Popa-Tudor
Naomi Tritean
Ștefan-Ovidiu Dima
Bogdan Trică
Marius Ghiurea
Anisoara Cimpean
Florin Oancea
Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei
author_facet Ioana Popa-Tudor
Naomi Tritean
Ștefan-Ovidiu Dima
Bogdan Trică
Marius Ghiurea
Anisoara Cimpean
Florin Oancea
Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei
author_sort Ioana Popa-Tudor
collection DOAJ
description Cellulose nanofibers gained increasing interest in the production of medical devices such as mucoadhesive nanohydrogels due to their ability to retain moisture (high hydrophilicity), flexibility, superior porosity and durability, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility. In this work, we aimed to compare the suitability of selected bacterial and vegetal nanocellulose to form hydrogels for biomedical applications. The vegetal and bacterial cellulose nanofibers were synthesized from brewer’s spent grains (BSG) and kombucha membranes, respectively. Two hydrogels were prepared, one based on the vegetal and the other based on the bacterial cellulose nanofibers (VNC and BNC, respectively). VNC was less opaque and more fluid than BNC. The cytocompatibility and in vitro antioxidant activity of the nanocellulose-based hydrogels were investigated using human gingival fibroblasts (HGF-1, ATCC CRL-2014). The investigation of the hydrogel–mucin interaction revealed that the BNC hydrogel had an approx. 2× higher mucin binding efficiency than the VNC hydrogel at a hydrogel/mucin ratio (mg/mg) = 4. The BNC hydrogel exhibited the highest potential to increase the number of metabolically active viable cells (107.60 ± 0.98% of cytotoxicity negative control) among all culture conditions. VNC reduced the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by about 23% (105.5 ± 2.2% of C−) in comparison with the positive control, whereas the ROS level was slightly higher (120.2 ± 3.9% of C−) following the BNC hydrogel treatment. Neither of the two hydrogels showed antibacterial activity when assessed by the diffusion method. The data suggest that the BNC hydrogel based on nanocellulose from kombucha fermentation could be a better candidate for cytocompatible and mucoadhesive nanoformulations than the VNC hydrogel based on nanocellulose from brewer’s spent grains. The antioxidant and antibacterial activity of BNC and both BNC and VNC, respectively, should be improved.
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spelling doaj-art-c83fbb799acd4e02bfa29cbcf4a4062d2025-01-24T13:33:52ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612025-01-011113710.3390/gels11010037Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)FormulationsIoana Popa-Tudor0Naomi Tritean1Ștefan-Ovidiu Dima2Bogdan Trică3Marius Ghiurea4Anisoara Cimpean5Florin Oancea6Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei7Polymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaPolymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaPolymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaPolymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaPolymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei nr. 91-95, Sector 5, 050095 Bucharest, RomaniaPolymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaPolymers and Bioresources Departments, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry—ICECHIM, Splaiul Independentei nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, RomaniaCellulose nanofibers gained increasing interest in the production of medical devices such as mucoadhesive nanohydrogels due to their ability to retain moisture (high hydrophilicity), flexibility, superior porosity and durability, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility. In this work, we aimed to compare the suitability of selected bacterial and vegetal nanocellulose to form hydrogels for biomedical applications. The vegetal and bacterial cellulose nanofibers were synthesized from brewer’s spent grains (BSG) and kombucha membranes, respectively. Two hydrogels were prepared, one based on the vegetal and the other based on the bacterial cellulose nanofibers (VNC and BNC, respectively). VNC was less opaque and more fluid than BNC. The cytocompatibility and in vitro antioxidant activity of the nanocellulose-based hydrogels were investigated using human gingival fibroblasts (HGF-1, ATCC CRL-2014). The investigation of the hydrogel–mucin interaction revealed that the BNC hydrogel had an approx. 2× higher mucin binding efficiency than the VNC hydrogel at a hydrogel/mucin ratio (mg/mg) = 4. The BNC hydrogel exhibited the highest potential to increase the number of metabolically active viable cells (107.60 ± 0.98% of cytotoxicity negative control) among all culture conditions. VNC reduced the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by about 23% (105.5 ± 2.2% of C−) in comparison with the positive control, whereas the ROS level was slightly higher (120.2 ± 3.9% of C−) following the BNC hydrogel treatment. Neither of the two hydrogels showed antibacterial activity when assessed by the diffusion method. The data suggest that the BNC hydrogel based on nanocellulose from kombucha fermentation could be a better candidate for cytocompatible and mucoadhesive nanoformulations than the VNC hydrogel based on nanocellulose from brewer’s spent grains. The antioxidant and antibacterial activity of BNC and both BNC and VNC, respectively, should be improved.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/1/37nanocellulosebrewer’s spent grainskombucha fermentationhydrogelscytocompatibilitygingival fibroblasts
spellingShingle Ioana Popa-Tudor
Naomi Tritean
Ștefan-Ovidiu Dima
Bogdan Trică
Marius Ghiurea
Anisoara Cimpean
Florin Oancea
Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei
Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations
Gels
nanocellulose
brewer’s spent grains
kombucha fermentation
hydrogels
cytocompatibility
gingival fibroblasts
title Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations
title_full Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations
title_fullStr Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations
title_full_unstemmed Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations
title_short Kombucha Versus Vegetal Cellulose for Affordable Mucoadhesive (nano)Formulations
title_sort kombucha versus vegetal cellulose for affordable mucoadhesive nano formulations
topic nanocellulose
brewer’s spent grains
kombucha fermentation
hydrogels
cytocompatibility
gingival fibroblasts
url https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/1/37
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