Natural Powerhouse Duo: Hierarchical Levan Hydrogels with Nanoencapsulated Cannabidiol as Local Delivery Systems
Pharmaceutical Research 2025
Diana Solovyov, Natalia Porfiryeva, Rania Awad, Selay Tornaci, Maya Davidovich-Pinhas, Ģirts Šalms, Arita Dubņika, Ebru Toksoy Oner, Alejandro Sosnik

The nonpsychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) has shown a wide range of pharmacological effects that are beneficial for wound healing. However, its local delivery is challenged by a very low aqueous solubility. Methods: In this work, we synthesized hierarchical hydrogels made of the fructan hydrolyzed levan crosslinked with glycerol diglycidyl ether and loaded them with CBD nanoencapsulated within Pluronic®F127 polymeric micelles (25% w/w payload). Results: Hydrogels showed the typical porous structure (high resolution-scanning electron microscopy) and water uptake capacity up to ~ 1700%. The CBD release kinetics was studied in water (pH 6.8) and phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) under sink conditions, at 37°C. An initial burst release stage within the first 2 h of the assay was followed by a more sustained release stage over 72 h. As expected, hydrogels with a lower crosslinking density exhibited faster CBD release in both media. Release data fit the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with a combined mechanism involving diffusion and polymer chain relaxation together with the release of CBD-loaded polymeric micelles. The good compatibility of the hydrogels was initially confirmed in the monocyte-derived human macrophage cell line THP-1 over 72 h. Then, we showed > 70% viability of primary patient-derived gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) exposed to hydrolyzed levan solutions, CBD-loaded polymeric micelle suspensions, and the CBD-loaded hydrogels for 28 days. Finally, we conducted preliminary differentiation studies of GMSCs cultured on non-loaded and CBD-loaded hydrolyzed levan hydrogels. Non-loaded hydrogels promote a transient increase in the secretion of the osteogenic marker alkaline phosphatase secretion that peaked at day 7 and declined thereafter, while CBD-loaded ones promote adipogenic differentiation. Conclusion: Overall, results demonstrate the potential of levan hydrogels as platforms for local drug delivery applications.


Keywords
Cannabidiol (CBD), Gingival mesenchymal stem cells, Levan hydrogels, Local drug delivery
DOI
10.1007/s11095-025-03935-y
Hyperlink
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11095-025-03935-y

Solovyov, D., Porfiryeva, N., Awad, R., Tornaci, S., Davidovich-Pinhas, M., Šalms, Ģ., Dubņika, A., Toksoy Oner, E., Sosnik, A. Natural Powerhouse Duo: Hierarchical Levan Hydrogels with Nanoencapsulated Cannabidiol as Local Delivery Systems. Pharmaceutical Research, 2025, Vol. 42, pp.1-17. ISSN 0724-8741. e-ISSN 1573-904X. Available from: doi:10.1007/s11095-025-03935-y

Publication language
English (en)
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