Long-Term In Situ Treatment of Arthritis with Injectable Biocompatible Organogel Activation

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease, severely impairs joint function and mobility, causing pain, stiffness, and joint deformity. As an active ingredient of ancient herbs and a widely studied polyphenol flavonoid glycoside, quercetin has a historical use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, its low oral bioavailability and potential carcinogenic effects limit its systemic use. Therefore, we propose an injectable hydrogel-based targeted drug delivery system designed to respond to the pathological environment of rheumatoid arthritis joints. This system controls the release of anti-inflammatory drugs to promote joint repair. Low-temperature atmospheric plasma (LTAP), characterized by high-energy properties, activates the bioactivity of natural polyphenols.Utilizing LTAP to stimulate quercetin into protocatechuic acid, we prepared an efficacious gel system by dynamically coupling with poloxamer and sodium alginate. This organic gel maintains typical hydrogel properties of viscosity, biosafety, and temperature sensitivity. Compared with quercetin alone, this activated organic gel offers enhanced safety, absorption, and metabolism. In vivo studies have demonstrated that local injection of this hydrogel effectively reduces bone destruction, inhibits pannus formation, and significantly suppresses inflammatory factors such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, thereby protecting joints.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Omega
Published
2025-08-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c02934
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.31

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article

Long-Term In Situ Treatment of Arthritis with Injectable Biocompatible Organogel Activation

Runhuai Yang, Zhengwei Wu, Wenchong Ouyang, Zhen‐Chao Dong et al.
1 citations
ACS Omega
Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
1.31
article

Long-Term In Situ Treatment of Arthritis with Injectable Biocompatible Organogel Activation

Runhuai Yang, Zhengwei Wu, Wenchong Ouyang, Zhen‐Chao Dong, Juan Wei, Xiaojun Feng, Linqiang Mei, Chengbiao Ding, Qi Liu
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease, severely impairs joint function and mobility, causing pain, stiffness, and joint deformity. As an active ingredient of ancient herbs and a widely studied polyphenol flavonoid glycoside, quercetin has a historical use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, its low oral bioavailability and potential carcinogenic effects limit its systemic use. Therefore, we propose an injectable hydrogel-based targeted drug delivery system designed to respond to the pathological environment of rheumatoid arthritis joints. This system controls the release of anti-inflammatory drugs to promote joint repair. Low-temperature atmospheric plasma (LTAP), characterized by high-energy properties, activates the bioactivity of natural polyphenols.Utilizing LTAP to stimulate quercetin into protocatechuic acid, we prepared an efficacious gel system by dynamically coupling with poloxamer and sodium alginate. This organic gel maintains typical hydrogel properties of viscosity, biosafety, and temperature sensitivity. Compared with quercetin alone, this activated organic gel offers enhanced safety, absorption, and metabolism. In vivo studies have demonstrated that local injection of this hydrogel effectively reduces bone destruction, inhibits pannus formation, and significantly suppresses inflammatory factors such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, thereby protecting joints.

ACS OmegaVol. 10(33)
Changchun University of Science and Technology (CN), University of Science and Technology of China (CN), City University of Hong Kong (HK), Anhui Medical University (CN), Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University (CN), Centre of Plasma Physics - Institute for Plasma Research (IN), Plasma Technology (United States) (US), Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (NL), Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (CN), Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (FR), PRG S&Tech (South Korea), Changchun University (CN), Center for Excellence in Education (US)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Anhui Medical University, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui Provincial Department of Education, Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
1.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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