Hyaluronate/black phosphorus complexes as a copper chelating agent for Wilson disease treatment

• Main Authors: Seong-Jong Kim, Hye Hyeon Han, Sei Kwang Hahn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-06-01
• Series: Biomaterials Research
• Subjects: Black phosphorus nanosheets; Hyaluronate; Chelating agent; Wilson disease
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40824-021-00221-x

Abstract Background Wilson disease (WD) is a genetic disorder of copper storage, resulting in pathological accumulation of copper in the body. Because symptoms are generally related to the liver, chelating agents capable of capturing excess copper ions after targeted delivery to the liver are highly required for the treatment of WD. Methods We developed hyaluronate-diaminohexane/black phosphorus (HA-DAH/BP) complexes for capturing copper ions accumulated in the liver for the treatment of WD. Results HA-DAH/BP complexes showed high hepatocyte-specific targeting efficiency, selective copper capturing capacity, excellent biocompatibility, and biodegradability. HA enhanced the stability of BP nanosheets and increased copper binding capacity. In vitro cellular uptake and competitive binding tests verified targeted delivery of HA-DAH/BP complexes to liver cells via HA receptor mediated endocytosis. The cell viability test confirmed the high biocompatibility of HA-DAH/BP complexes. Conclusion HA-DAH/BP complexes would be an efficient copper chelating agent to remove accumulated copper in the liver for the WD treatment.