Dietary fiber-derived microparticles from microfluidic for drug delivery in treating inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), as chronic relapsing inflammatory diseases, are characterized by intestinal progressive injury. In this paper, we presented dietary fiber-based microcarriers capable of absorption by the colon and great biocompatibility for colon-targeting drug delivery in treating IBD. The particles were prepared by inulin, a kind of dietary fiber that was employed to regulate the intestinal microflora and improve intestinal health, through microfluidic approach. Many kinds of drugs, including budesonide, could be integrated into the particles. Besides, the microparticles would release activities with the absorption of inulin in colon site, providing the particles capability of colon-targeting drug delivery in treating IBD. It was demonstrated that the microparticles loaded with drug were able to downregulate expression of pro-inflammatory factors, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), upregulate expression of anti-inflammatory factors, interferon-α (IFN-α), IL-10, significantly repair the intestinal damage, thereby promoting the treatment of IBD. This suggests the great promising value of inulin microcarriers in IBD therapy and biomedical applications.