Biomaterials Containing the Natural Antioxidant Quercetin: Synthesis and Health Benefits

Quercetin, whose health-promoting effects are acclaimed, is entrapped in a silica-based and silica/polymer hybrid material via sol–gel route, to develop new antioxidant biomaterials for preventing the onset of ROS-related diseases. The materials’ morphology is detected by SEM analysis, whereas the chemical characterization is achieved by spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Despite an oxidation reaction in the quercetin structure, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS [2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazolin-6-sulfonic acid)] data show that all the materials preserve its antioxidant efficacy. MTT [3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide] test indicates a mild cytotoxicity in NIH-3T3, PC12, and U251 cells. Furthermore, materials with the highest quercetin percentage are able to inhibit the H2O2-induced intracellular ROS production in murine fibroblasts