Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder and serious cause of disability. Despite considerable advances in RA management, challenges like extensive drug metabolism and rapid clearance causes poor bioavailability. Core-shell nanocarriers for co-delivery of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) and budesonide against RA were developed. GA-loaded gelatin nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized and coated with budesonide encapsulated aminocellulose-grafted polycaprolactone (PCL-AC). GA- and budesonide-loaded PCL-AC-gel NPs had diameter of 200−225 nm. Dual drug-loaded (DDL) NPs reduced joint swelling and erythema in rats while markedly ameliorating bone erosion evidenced by radiological analysis, suppressed collagen destruction, restored synovial tissue, bone and cartilage histoarchitecture with reduced inflammatory cells infiltration. NPs also reduced various inflammatory biomarkers such as TNF-α, IL-1β, COX-2, iNOS. Results of this study suggest that dual NPs exerted superior therapeutic effects in RA compared to free drugs which may be attributed to slow and sustained drug release and NPs’ ability to inhibit inflammatory mediators.

类风湿关节炎（RA）是一种慢性自身免疫性疾病，是残疾的严重原因。尽管RA管理取得了长足的进步，但诸如大量药物代谢和快速清除等挑战仍导致生物利用度差。研发了甘草酸（GA）和布地奈德抗RA共递送的核壳纳米载体。合成了GA负载的明胶纳米颗粒（NPs），并用布地奈德包裹的氨基纤维素接枝的聚己内酯（PCL-AC）进行了包被。装有GA和布地奈德的PCL-AC-gel NP的直径为200-225 nm。载有双重药物的（DDL）NP减少了大鼠的关节肿胀和红斑，而放射学分析表明明显改善了骨侵蚀，抑制了胶原蛋白的破坏，恢复了滑膜组织，骨骼和软骨的组织结构，并减少了炎性细胞的浸润。NP也减少了各种炎性生物标志物，例如TNF-α，IL-1β，COX-2，iNOS。这项研究的结果表明，与游离药物相比，双重NP在RA中具有更好的治疗效果，这可能归因于缓慢和持续的药物释放以及NP抑制炎症介质的能力。