Evaluation of PDA‑PLL Nanoparticles for siRNA Delivery and ROS Scavenging in Rat Osteoarthritis

Introduction

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease in which elevated TNF-α and excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) play central roles. These two pathological factors mutually reinforce each other—TNF-α induces ROS production while ROS upregulates TNF-α expression—forming a vicious cycle that propels disease progression. However, current therapies offer only symptomatic relief without halting this process. To address this, we developed polydopamine-poly(L-lysine) (PDA-PLL) nanoparticles as a dual-functional platform that combines PDA-mediated ROS scavenging with PLL-facilitated TNF-α siRNA delivery.