Owing to its biocompatibility properties and its ability to promote the
scar healing process,
chitosan is employed in tissue engineering for the manufacture of formulations. To control the characteristic
skin ulcers of
cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), the use of a biopolymeric system that favors the
scar healing process and releases an active agent such as
meglumine antimoniate may be a better option. For these reasons, here we analyzed the cytotoxic capabilities of
excipients [medium molecular weight
chitosan (MMWC),
lactic acid (LA) and
polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)], used for the formulation of a film-based therapeutic system that releases
meglumine antimoniate and were evaluated on human macrophages [monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs)], L929 fibroblasts and parasites (Leishmania major promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes). The ability of
excipients to modulate the
cytokines production involved in the
scar healing process was compared with film-based therapeutic system. The efficiency of a film-based therapeutic system loaded with
meglumine antimoniate was compared with conventional formulation (Albiventriz(®)). We found that MMWC was toxic for two parasite forms. In contrast, measurement of
interleukin levels did not show any evidence of preferential secretion as a side effect of treating human macrophages with MMWC. Finally, the efficiency of a polymeric film-based therapeutic system that was loaded with
meglumine antimoniate could not be determined due to the high degree of toxicity observed in infected MDMs; moreover, these compounds do not induce any apparent immunomodulatory effects. Our findings suggest that the final concentrations of each
excipients (MMWC, LA and PVP) that were used in the polymeric film were suitable vehicles for active
pharmaceutical compound delivery and did not selectively affect (enhancing or diminishing immune activity) macrophages.