Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of the intralesionally injected controlled granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) releasing system in widening refractory extravasation wounds.
Methods: The determination of in vitro GM-CSF release from chitosan gel was the first, and in vivo effect of the molecule was the second step of the study. Thirty-five Wistar-Albino rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: 1) control group (adriamycin group) (n=7); 2) adriamycin+normal saline group (n=7); 3) adriamycin+chitosan group (n=7); 4) adriamycin+1 μg/mL GM-CSF-loaded chitosan group (n=7); and 5) adriamycin+10 μg/mL GM-CSF loaded chitosan group (n=7). The wound area was measured macroscopically and histological examination was carried out for wound healing and tissue response to the polymer.
Results: The best healing process was observed with the controlled released GM-CSF groups (groups 4 and 5). The 1 μg/mL GM-CSF loaded group showed superior wound healing than that of 10 μg/mL GM-CSF loaded gels. This result was correlated with the in vitro study which also showed increased drug release in the 1 μg/mL GM-CSF loaded group than the 10 μg/mL GMC-SF loaded gels.
Conclusion: This study suggests that GM-CSF, applied with controlled drug delivery system, can supply dynamic treatment options with long-lasting activity in single-dose administration.