• Preparation of chitosan hydrogels containing spirulina and glutathione extract for use as anti-inflammatory skin care
  • Zahra sadat majedi barikarasf,1 Sepideh Khaleghi,2,* Shadi Hajrasouliha,3
    1. Islamic azad universiti
    2. Islamic Azad University,


  • Introduction: Spirulina, a seaweed which is a blue-green algae biomass, belongs to the class of cyanobacteria discovered by non-referenced Mexicans in the 16th century and has been used as a daily food source. It is enriched with lots of vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, proteins, pigments, minerals and is considered a wonder of nature. Free radical-induced oxidative damage has long been thought to be the most important consequence of the aging process. In this project the Spirulina extract and Glutathione were used in Chitosan hydrogel preparation. The cytotoxicity and proliferation effects of chitosan nanohydrogels containing Spirulina extracts and Glutathione by MTT assay. Moreover, migration of HFF-1 cells was evaluated by Scratch test. The expression of important genes in skin rehabilitation were assessed by Real Time PCR.
  • Methods: The physicochemical characterization of Nanohydrogel was evaluated by DLS and TEM. The interaction between functional groups of TPP and Chitosan by FT-IR. The cytotoxicity effect of nanohydrogels was assayed by MTT in different time points 24, 48 and 72 hours. The migration assay was done be scratch test furthermore the main gene (TGFβ, TNFα) expression in skin rehabilitation were analyzed by Real Time PCR. Statistical analysis was done by Graphpad Prism v.8 and ONE-WAY ANOVA and T-Test analysis.
  • Results: The results showed the significant effects of Chitosan hydrogels containing Spirulina extract and Glutathione on cell proliferation and migration assay. More than two folds of proliferation rate was confirmed after 48 hours incubation. The expression of genes was significantly increased after 24 hours incubation. The migration effects of hydrogel were qualitatively evaluated by scratch test. The different of migration was seen among different kinds of group treatments. The best results were achieved in treated cells by chitosan nano hydrogels containing Spirulina aqua extract and Glutathione.
  • Conclusion: In this project the functional effects of nanohydrogels were confirmed in cellular and molecular levels.
  • Keywords: Spirulina, Glutathione, Chitosan hydrogels, anti-inflammatory, Skin rehabilitation