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Microfluidic-Synthesized pH-Responsive Nanoparticle–Hydrogel Composites for Targeted Osteoarthritis Drug Delivery
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1  Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
Academic Editor: Serena Danti

Abstract:

Osteoarthritis (OA) demands localized, on-demand drug delivery due to the limited efficacy of systemic or standard intra-articular therapies, which suffer from rapid clearance and poor targeting. We present a novel stimuli-responsive nanocomposite system comprising amphiphilic core–shell polymer nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in a hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-C12 (HPMC-C12) hydrogel matrix. Crucially, the NPs are produced via a microfluidic chip process, yielding highly uniform sizes with polydispersity index (PDI) < 0.1. This microfluidic approach overcomes the drastic polydispersity and batch-to-batch inconsistencies of conventional nanoparticle synthesis, ensuring reproducible NP characteristics and enhanced drug loading capacity. The NP polymer architecture has been rationally tuned for pH-responsiveness: it remains stable at physiological pH, yet rapidly triggers payload release at pH 6.5, mimicking the acidic microenvironment of inflamed OA joints. This precise pH-triggered behavior targets drug release to diseased tissue while minimizing off-target leakage. In vitro studies of the NP–hydrogel composite in buffered media demonstrated sharply differential release profiles: at pH 7.4 the composite showed negligible drug release, whereas at pH 6.5 it achieved sustained release of encapsulated payloads over days. Notably, the hydrogel’s porous network allows for co-loading of large biologics, while the NP cores carry hydrophobic small-molecule drugs. Using doxorubicin as a model drug and relevant OA therapeutic candidates, we confirm that the system can concurrently deliver a small molecule and a high-molecular-weight protein with distinct release kinetics. Such dual delivery leverages the hydrogel for slow protein release and the NPs for controlled small-drug release, addressing the need for combination therapy in OA. Co-delivery of small and macromolecular therapeutics is increasingly recognized for synergistic treatment efficacy, and our composite provides a single injectable platform to achieve this. Preliminary in vivo evaluations in rat OA models indicate excellent biocompatibility and localization of the composite, with ongoing studies to quantify its therapeutic impact.

Keywords: drug delivery; osteoarthritis; polymer; nanoparticles; stimuli
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