Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy

Renjie Tan; Shuai Zhang; Weibin Jia; Kaisong Huang; Min Li; Ke Zhang; Saira Iqbal; Yifan Si; Shuo Meng; Wenjie Fang; Jinlian Hu

doi:10.1021/acsnano.5c07846

Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy

Renjie Tan (Co-first Author)
, Shuai Zhang (Co-first Author)
, Weibin Jia
, Kaisong Huang
, Min Li
, Ke Zhang
, Saira Iqbal
, Yifan Si
, Shuo Meng
, Wenjie Fang
, Jinlian Hu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Denervation-induced muscle atrophy causes a 40–50% reduction in muscle fiber size within 2 weeks. This negatively impacts muscle quality and function. Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce muscle atrophy by 20%. However, their bioavailability and gastrointestinal side effects raise concerns. Furthermore, multiple intramuscular injections can be difficult for patients. This is due to tolerance issues and discomfort from high doses. Muscle-targeted sustained-release delivery offers a solution by avoiding gastrointestinal problems and first-pass effects. Here, we present a self-powered gelatin nanofiber membrane (NFM) designed for the sustained release of aspirin/lysine (one NSAID). This method eliminates the need for repeated injections and directly targets inflammatory factors and superoxide in denervated muscles. As a result, it leads to a 44% increase in muscle weight and improved functional capacity in daily movements. Although the NFM requires implantation, its self-powered stimulation promotes muscle quality and enhances further drug release. Additionally, exercise-induced stimulation can intelligently control drug delivery through the self-powered nanofibers. Transcriptomic studies have confirmed that the NFM regulated muscle angiogenesis via inhibiting renin-angiotensin signal. Furthermore, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects were enhanced with the incorporation of aspirin/lysine. © 2025 American Chemical Society

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	31481-31495
Journal	ACS Nano
Volume	19
Issue number	35
Online published	26 Aug 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c07846
Publication status	Published - 9 Sept 2025

Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from the CityU Startup Grant (“Laboratory of Wearable Materials for Healthcare”, Grant 9380116), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) for projects titled “Study of High Performance Fiber to be Achieved by Mimicking the Hierarchical Structure of Spider-Silk” (Grant 52073241), “Study of Multi-Responsive Shape Memory Polyurethane Nanocomposites Inspired by Natural Fibers” (Grant 51673162), and “Developing Spider-Silk-Model Artificial Fibers by a Chemical Synthetic Approach” (Grant 15201719), as well as Contract Research (“Development of Breathable Fabrics with Nano-Electrospun Membrane”, CityU ref: 9231419). The authors appreciate Biorender for the creation of Figures 4a,i, and 6c and abstract graph.

Research Keywords

anti-inflammation
atrophy
bioactive nanofiber
drug delivery
myogenesis
self-powered

Publisher's Copyright Statement

COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED POSTPRINT FILE: This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Nano, copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c07846.

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@article{5e04bf0ea8014e5cb3330137e0520970,

title = "Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy",

abstract = "Denervation-induced muscle atrophy causes a 40–50\% reduction in muscle fiber size within 2 weeks. This negatively impacts muscle quality and function. Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce muscle atrophy by 20\%. However, their bioavailability and gastrointestinal side effects raise concerns. Furthermore, multiple intramuscular injections can be difficult for patients. This is due to tolerance issues and discomfort from high doses. Muscle-targeted sustained-release delivery offers a solution by avoiding gastrointestinal problems and first-pass effects. Here, we present a self-powered gelatin nanofiber membrane (NFM) designed for the sustained release of aspirin/lysine (one NSAID). This method eliminates the need for repeated injections and directly targets inflammatory factors and superoxide in denervated muscles. As a result, it leads to a 44\% increase in muscle weight and improved functional capacity in daily movements. Although the NFM requires implantation, its self-powered stimulation promotes muscle quality and enhances further drug release. Additionally, exercise-induced stimulation can intelligently control drug delivery through the self-powered nanofibers. Transcriptomic studies have confirmed that the NFM regulated muscle angiogenesis via inhibiting renin-angiotensin signal. Furthermore, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects were enhanced with the incorporation of aspirin/lysine. {\textcopyright} 2025 American Chemical Society",

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author = "Renjie Tan and Shuai Zhang and Weibin Jia and Kaisong Huang and Min Li and Ke Zhang and Saira Iqbal and Yifan Si and Shuo Meng and Wenjie Fang and Jinlian Hu",

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Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy. / Tan, Renjie (Co-first Author); Zhang, Shuai (Co-first Author); Jia, Weibin et al.
In: ACS Nano, Vol. 19, No. 35, 09.09.2025, p. 31481-31495.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy

AU - Tan, Renjie

AU - Zhang, Shuai

AU - Jia, Weibin

AU - Huang, Kaisong

AU - Li, Min

AU - Zhang, Ke

AU - Iqbal, Saira

AU - Si, Yifan

AU - Meng, Shuo

AU - Fang, Wenjie

AU - Hu, Jinlian

PY - 2025/9/9

Y1 - 2025/9/9

N2 - Denervation-induced muscle atrophy causes a 40–50% reduction in muscle fiber size within 2 weeks. This negatively impacts muscle quality and function. Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce muscle atrophy by 20%. However, their bioavailability and gastrointestinal side effects raise concerns. Furthermore, multiple intramuscular injections can be difficult for patients. This is due to tolerance issues and discomfort from high doses. Muscle-targeted sustained-release delivery offers a solution by avoiding gastrointestinal problems and first-pass effects. Here, we present a self-powered gelatin nanofiber membrane (NFM) designed for the sustained release of aspirin/lysine (one NSAID). This method eliminates the need for repeated injections and directly targets inflammatory factors and superoxide in denervated muscles. As a result, it leads to a 44% increase in muscle weight and improved functional capacity in daily movements. Although the NFM requires implantation, its self-powered stimulation promotes muscle quality and enhances further drug release. Additionally, exercise-induced stimulation can intelligently control drug delivery through the self-powered nanofibers. Transcriptomic studies have confirmed that the NFM regulated muscle angiogenesis via inhibiting renin-angiotensin signal. Furthermore, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects were enhanced with the incorporation of aspirin/lysine. © 2025 American Chemical Society

AB - Denervation-induced muscle atrophy causes a 40–50% reduction in muscle fiber size within 2 weeks. This negatively impacts muscle quality and function. Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce muscle atrophy by 20%. However, their bioavailability and gastrointestinal side effects raise concerns. Furthermore, multiple intramuscular injections can be difficult for patients. This is due to tolerance issues and discomfort from high doses. Muscle-targeted sustained-release delivery offers a solution by avoiding gastrointestinal problems and first-pass effects. Here, we present a self-powered gelatin nanofiber membrane (NFM) designed for the sustained release of aspirin/lysine (one NSAID). This method eliminates the need for repeated injections and directly targets inflammatory factors and superoxide in denervated muscles. As a result, it leads to a 44% increase in muscle weight and improved functional capacity in daily movements. Although the NFM requires implantation, its self-powered stimulation promotes muscle quality and enhances further drug release. Additionally, exercise-induced stimulation can intelligently control drug delivery through the self-powered nanofibers. Transcriptomic studies have confirmed that the NFM regulated muscle angiogenesis via inhibiting renin-angiotensin signal. Furthermore, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects were enhanced with the incorporation of aspirin/lysine. © 2025 American Chemical Society

KW - anti-inflammation

KW - atrophy

KW - bioactive nanofiber

KW - drug delivery

KW - myogenesis

KW - self-powered

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DO - 10.1021/acsnano.5c07846

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 40858524

SN - 1936-0851

VL - 19

SP - 31481

EP - 31495

JO - ACS Nano

JF - ACS Nano

IS - 35

ER -

Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

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Other Files and Links

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

GRF: Developing Spider-Silk-Model Artificial Fibers by A Chemical Synthetic Approach

Enhancing Muscle Recovery: Drug Release from Smart Nanofiber Membranes in Atrophy

Cite this

Exercise-Induced Stimulation of Self-Powered Nanofibers for Aspirin/Lysine Delivery in the Prevention of Denervated Muscle Atrophy

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: Developing Spider-Silk-Model Artificial Fibers by A Chemical Synthetic Approach

Student theses

Enhancing Muscle Recovery: Drug Release from Smart Nanofiber Membranes in Atrophy

Cite this