Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications

Moutinho, Beatriz; Pyra, Natalia; Styrna, Zuzanna; Rosa, Maria Emilia; Ribeiro, Maria H. L.

doi:10.3390/gels12010066

Open AccessArticle

Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications

by

Beatriz Moutinho

^1,†,

Natalia Pyra

^1,2,†,

Zuzanna Styrna

^1,2

,

Maria Emilia Rosa

³ and

Maria H. L. Ribeiro

^1,*

¹

Research Institute of Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal

²

Faculty of Chemical Technology, Poznan University of Technology, 5 M. Skłodowska-Curie Square, 60-965 Poznan, Poland

³

Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica (IDMEC), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Gels 2026, 12(1), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12010066

Submission received: 13 January 2025 / Revised: 7 January 2026 / Accepted: 9 January 2026 / Published: 11 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Green Chemistry in Hydrogel Development: Design, Synthesis, and Characterization)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

The main goal of this work was to develop nanoparticles of lysozyme (Lys) for biological and biomedical applications. The developed biosystems were based on Lys-loaded calcium alginate 2% and chitosan 1% beads and films with different concentrations of each polymer. Encapsulation efficiency was 100%. The ratio of adsorbed Lys on the films, Lys activity, and the release profile of Lys were measured using water and buffer solution at pH similar to the environment of cancer cells, at a controlled temperature of 37 °C and a constant speed, to assess the efficacy of the encapsulation process. Lys antimicrobial activity was assessed using Micrococcus lysodeikticus. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of the developed biosystems were also evaluated. The anti-inflammatory activity of Lys released from calcium alginate 2%-chitosan 1% beads loaded with Lys was about 99%. These findings highlight the potential of the developed beads and films for biomedical applications, particularly in antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory therapies.

Keywords: lysozyme; hydrogels; alginate; chitosan; anti-inflammatory activity; antioxidant activity

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Moutinho, B.; Pyra, N.; Styrna, Z.; Rosa, M.E.; Ribeiro, M.H.L. Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications. Gels 2026, 12, 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12010066

AMA Style

Moutinho B, Pyra N, Styrna Z, Rosa ME, Ribeiro MHL. Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications. Gels. 2026; 12(1):66. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12010066

Chicago/Turabian Style

Moutinho, Beatriz, Natalia Pyra, Zuzanna Styrna, Maria Emilia Rosa, and Maria H. L. Ribeiro. 2026. "Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications" Gels 12, no. 1: 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12010066

APA Style

Moutinho, B., Pyra, N., Styrna, Z., Rosa, M. E., & Ribeiro, M. H. L. (2026). Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications. Gels, 12(1), 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12010066

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Lysozyme Functionalized Alginate-Chitosan Beads and Films for Different Release Applications

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI