Preparation, Characterization, Wound Healing, and Cytotoxicity Assay of PEGylated Nanophytosomes Loaded with 6-Gingerol

Abstract

Background: Nutrients are widely used for treating illnesses in traditional medicine. Ginger has long been used in folk medicine to treat motion sickness and other minor health disorders. Chronic non-healing wounds might elicit an inflammation response and cancerous mutation. Few clinical studies have investigated 6-gingerol’s wound-healing activity due to its poor pharmacokinetic properties. However, nanotechnology can deliver 6-gingerol while possibly enhancing these properties. Our study aimed to develop a nanophytosome system loaded with 6-gingerol molecules to investigate the delivery system’s influence on wound healing and anti-cancer activities. Methods: We adopted the thin-film hydration method to synthesize nanophytosomes. We used lipids in a ratio of 70:25:5 for DOPC(dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine): cholesterol: DSPE/PEG2000, respectively. We loaded the 6-gingerol molecules in a concentration of 1.67 mg/mL and achieved size reduction via the extrusion technique. We determined cytotoxicity using lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer cell lines. We performed gene expression of inflammation markers and cytokines according to international protocols. Results: The synthesized nanophytosome particle sizes were 150.16 ± 1.65, the total charge was −13.36 ± 1.266, and the polydispersity index was 0.060 ± 0.050. Transmission electron microscopy determined the synthesized particles’ spherical shape and uniform size. The encapsulation efficiency was 34.54% ± 0.035. Our biological tests showed that 6-gingerol nanophytosomes displayed selective antiproliferative activity, considerable downregulation of inflammatory markers and cytokines, and an enhanced wound-healing process. Conclusions: Our results confirm the anti-cancer activity of PEGylated nanophytosome 6-gingerol, with superior activity exhibited in accelerating wound healing.