Histopathological Evaluation of Spinal Cord with Experimental Traumatic Injury Following Implantation of a Controlled Released Drug Delivery System of Chitosan Hydrogel Loaded with Selenium Nanoparticle

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of local implantation of a controlled delivery system of chitosan hydrogel loaded with selenium nanoparticles in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). For this purpose, 60 adult female rats were randomly divided into three equal groups. In all three groups, SCI was induced by aneurysm clamping at the level of thoracic vertebrae under inhaled anesthesia with isoflurane. In one group after spinal cord injury, chitosan hydrogels loaded with selenium nanoparticles (treatment group), and in the other group, only chitosan hydrogels (positive control group) were placed at the site of injury. In the last group (negative control), no material was placed in the injury site. Hematoxylin-eosin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining evaluated histological changes at the site of injury on days 3, 7, 21, and 28 after surgery. Evaluations show that hemorrhage and inflammation also have a marked decrease in inflammatory cells at different times in the treatment group. This decrease was also seen in the chitosan group but was less severe than in the treatment group. The formation of nerve fibers was also observed in the treatment group over time of injury. Immunohistochemical studies of damaged tissue showed higher expression of GFAP protein in the astrocytes of the treatment group than in the other two groups and the chitosan group compared with the negative control group. A controlled drug delivery system containing selenium nanoparticles seems to play a role in the protection of nerve cells through its anti-inflammatory effect.