Applications of antioxidant nanoparticles and hydrogels in osteoarthritis: A review

During osteoarthritis, the oxidation-reduction balance will be broken, resulting in the excessive formation of reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species have been shown to disrupt proteins, lipids, and deoxyribonucleic acid. They induce oxidative strain, which can induce the development of osteoarthritis and lead to worse consequences. To solve this problem, antioxidant molecules have attracted wide attention for their ability to scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species. Nevertheless, most antioxidants encounter obstacles that affect their bioavailability, including a narrow absorption capacity, difficulty in penetrating cell membranes, and disintegration during delivery. Therefore, to solve these problems, the excellently targeted delivery, biocompatibility, deformability, and other characteristics of nanoparticles and hydrogels have been considered, and nanoparticles and hydrogels are at present being widely developed as antioxidant carriers. Nanoparticles and hydrogels that target the oxidative stress pathway can be mixed with antioxidants to increase their bioavailability, adhesion, and other related characteristics, which leads to better treatment of osteoarthritis. This research study aims to examine the biological scaffolds of osteoarthritis, which contain antioxidant nanoparticles and antioxidant hydrogels, as well as process controlling reactive oxygen compounds throughout the entire knee joint cavity. In addition, current challenges and potential solutions that can use antioxidant nanoparticles and antioxidant hydrogel biological scaffolds have been proposed to provide a theoretical basis for their future clinical applications.