ß-Carotene laden antibacterial and antioxidant gelatin/polyglyceryl stearate nano-hydrogel system for burn wound healing application.

Worldwide, burn wounds are severe health issues prone to bacterial infections and challenging to treat with traditional wound dressings. Therefore, a highly desirable biological macromolecules-based wound dressing with good antioxidant, antibacterial, biocompatible, and a large surface area is required. Herein, aim to develop a biological macromolecules-based physically cross-linked gelatin/polyglyceryl stearate/graphene oxide (GPGO) hydrogel to treat burn wounds. Four sets of hydrogels were prepared by varying GO concentrations. FT-IR, FE-SEM, viscosity analysis, mechanical and thermal stability confirmed the successful preparation of hydrogels with desired properties. Further, ß-carotene (0.5 mg/mL) was encapsulated in hydrogels to enhance the antioxidant activity, and a cumulative release as well as kinetics at pH 6.4 and 7.4 was performed. With an increase in GO concentration, hydrogels showed sustained release of ß-carotene. Among all, GPGO-3 ß hydrogel showed the highest antioxidant potency (57.75 %), hemocompatible (<5 %), cytocompatible (viable with NIH 3T3 cells), cell migration, proliferation, and in vitro wound healing. Also, GPGO-3 ß hydrogel showed efficient antibacterial activity (%inhibition of 85.5 % and 80.2 % and zone of 11 mm and 9.8 mm against S. aureus and E. coli). These results demonstrated the ability of GPGO-3 ß hydrogel as a promising candidate for burn wound healing applications.

Dual cross-linked gellan gum/gelatin-based multifunctional nanocomposite hydrogel scaffold for full-thickness wound healing.

Biological macromolecules are excellent materials for wound dressing owing to their similar structure to the extracellular matrix and adjustable physicochemical properties. This research focuses on fabricating biological macromolecule-based hydrogel with desirable antibacterial, antioxidant, controlled drug release, cytocompatibility, and wound healing properties. Herein, different concentrations of nanoceria (NC) and flurbiprofen (FLU) drug-loaded gellan gum/gelatin (GG/Ge) based dual crosslinked (Ionic and EDC/NHS coupling) hydrogels were engineered. All fabricated hydrogels were hydrophilic, biodegradable, good strength, porous, antioxidant, hemocompatible and cytocompatible. Among all, hydrogel loaded with 500 µg/ml NC (GG/Ge/NC@FLU) exhibited desirable antioxidant, antibacterial (killed Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli within 12 h), hemocompatible, cytocompatible, supports oxidative-stressed L929 cell growth and acted as a controlled release matrix for FLU, following Fickian diffusion, Peppas Sahlin and Korsmeyer-Peppas drug release models. Furthermore, nanocomposite hydrogel (GG/Ge/NC@FLU)-treated wounds of rats on day 14 demonstrated significantly higher collagen synthesis, nearly 100 % wound contractions, and efficiently decreased the expression of TNF-α and IL-1 while increasing the production of IL-10 and TNF-ß3, indicating antiinflammatory activity, and effectively reduced the expression of VEGF gene indicating effective angiogenesis than all other controls. In conclusion, the fabricated multifunctional GG/Ge/NC@FLU nanocomposite hydrogel shows promising potential for effectively treating full-thickness wound healing in a rat model.

Hydrogel-Based Adsorbent Material for the Effective Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater: A Comprehensive Review.

Water is a vital resource that is required for social and economic development. A rapid increase in industrialization and numerous anthropogenic activities have resulted in severe water contamination. In particular, the contamination caused by heavy metal discharge has a negative impact on human health and the aquatic environment due to the non-biodegradability, toxicity, and carcinogenic effects of heavy metals. Thus, there is an immediate need to recycle wastewater before releasing heavy metals into water bodies. Hydrogels, as potent adsorbent materials, are a good contenders for treating toxic heavy metals in wastewater. Hydrogels are a soft matter formed via the cross-linking of natural or synthetic polymers to develop a three-dimensional mesh structure. The inherent properties of hydrogels, such as biodegradability, swell-ability, and functionalization, have made them superior applications for heavy metal removal. In this review, we have emphasized the recent development in the synthesis of hydrogel-based adsorbent materials. The review starts with a discussion on the methods used for recycling wastewater. The discussion then shifts to properties, classification based on various criteria, and surface functionality. In addition, the synthesis and adsorption mechanisms are explained in detail with the understanding of the regeneration, recovery, and reuse of hydrogel-based adsorbent materials. Therefore, the cost-effective, facile, easy to modify and biodegradable hydrogel may provide a long-term solution for heavy metal removal.