Fabrication of a Chitosan-Based Wound Dressing Patch for Enhanced Antimicrobial, Hemostatic, and Wound Healing Application.

Wounds are a serious life threat that occurs in daily life. The complex cascade of synchronized cellular and molecular phases in wound healing is impaired by different means, involving infection, neuropathic complexes, abnormal blood circulation, and cell proliferation at the wound region. Thus, to overcome these problems, a multifunctional wound dressing material is fabricated. In the current research work, we have fabricated a wound dressing polymeric patch, with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan (Cs) incorporated with a photocatalytic graphene nanocomposite (GO/TiO2(V-N)) and curcumin by a gel casting method, that focuses on multiple stages of the healing process. The morphology, swelling, degradation, moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), porosity, light-induced antibacterial activity, hemolysis, blood clotting, blood abortion, light-induced biocompatibility, migration assay, and drug release were analyzed for the polymeric patches under in vitro conditions. PVA/Cs/GO/TiO2(V-N)/Cur patches have shown enhanced wound healing in in vivo wound healing experiments on Wister rats. They show higher collagen deposition, thicker granulation tissue, and higher fibroblast density than conventional dressing. A histological study shows excellent re-epithelialization ability and dense collagen deposition. In vitro and in vivo analysis confirmed that PVA/Cs/GO/TiO2(V-N) and PVA/Cs/GO/TiO2(V-N)/Cur patches enhance the wound healing process.

Multifunctional ZnO/SiO2 Core/Shell Nanoparticles for Bioimaging and Drug Delivery Application.

Semiconducting nanoparticles with luminescent properties are used as detection probes and drug carriers in in-vitro and in-vivo analysis. ZnO nanoparticles, due to its biocompatibility and low cost, have shown potential application in bioimaging and drug delivery. Thus, ZnO/SiO2 core/shell nanoparticle was synthesised by wet chemical method for fluorescent probing and drug delivery application. The synthesised core/shell nanomaterial was characterized using XRD, FTIR, UV-VIS spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, TEM and PL analysis. The silicon shell enhances the photoluminescence and aqueous stability of the pure ZnO nanoparticles. The porous surface of the shell acts as a carrier for sustained release of curcumin. The synthesized core/shell particle shows high cell viability, hemocompatibility and promising florescent property. Graphical Abstract.

Assessment of in-vivo biocompatibility evaluation of phytogenic gold nanoparticles on Wistar albino male rats.

Nanomedicine is an interdisciplinary approach that involves toxicology and other medicinal applications. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) may serve as a promising model to address the size and shape-dependent biological response because they show good biocompatibility. This study is to prepare phytosynthesis AuNPs from ten different Cassia sp. Among them, the aqueous leaf extract of C. roxburghii produced greater efficient and stable AuNPs. The AuNPs were optimised for different physicochemical conditions. Highly stable AuNPs were synthesised at pH 7.0, 37°C, 1.0 ml of C. roxburghii leaf extract and 1.0 mM concentration of HAuCl4 with the particle size of ∼50 nm and these AuNPs were stable up to 12 months. To determine the safety profile of AuNPs in-vivo, the nanoparticles were injected intravenously into male Wistar albino rats in varying dosages. The authors noticed no significant difference in body weights, haematological and biochemical parameters and the histopathological sections of all vital organs. Highest accumulation was seen in spleen and least in brain. The authors' results show that the AuNPs were biocompatible and did not produce any adverse or abnormalities in-vivo. The implications of the bioaccumulation of AuNPs need to be further studied to rule out any adverse effects on long-term exposure.

PVA/SA/TiO2-CUR patch for enhanced wound healing application: In vitro and in vivo analysis.

Wound healing is a complex multistep process. Wound healing materials should have good antibacterial activity against wound infection causing microbes. Curcumin has effective antimicrobial activity, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant property. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a biocompatible, nontoxic material used for many biomedical applications. The Usage of curcumin tagged TiO2 nanoparticles for wound healing activity is promising due to the properties of both curcumin and TiO2. We have synthesized curcumin tagged TiO2 nanoparticles. The synthesized materials are characterized with XRD, FTIR and TEM. TiO2-Cur nanocomposite was incorporated into poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA) patch. The PVA/SA/TiO2-Cur patch was prepared by gel casting method. Antibacterial efficiency of PVA/SA/TiO2-Cur patch was analyzed. Further, in vivo studies conducted on Wister rats confirmed the enhanced wound healing property of the PVA/SA/TiO2-Cur patch. Our results suggest that this could be an ideal biomaterial for wound dressing applications.

Efficacy of mycosynthesised AgNPs from Earliella scabrosa as an in vitro antibacterial and wound healing agent.

The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with their unique chemical and physical properties are proving as a new therapeutical agent. In the present study, the AgNPs synthesised from an aqueous extract of a macrofungus, Earliella scabrosa, were characterised by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and further evaluate for its in vitro antibacterial and wound healing efficacy. The mycosynthesised AgNPs exhibited the surface plasmon resonance peak at 410 nm with good stability over a period of a month. The FESEM and EDX analyses revealed the spherical-shaped AgNPs of an average size of 20 nm and the presence of elemental Ag, respectively. The XRD pattern showed the crystalline nature of AgNPs. The FTIR spectra confirmed the conversion of Ag+ ions to AgNPs due to reduction by biomolecules of macrofungus extract. The mycosynthesised AgNPs showed effective antibacterial activity against two Gram-positive bacteria, namely Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, and two Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The pathogens were highly sensitive to AgNPs, whereas less sensitive to AgNO3. The mycosynthesised AgNPs showed significant wound healing potential with 68.58% of wound closure.

An in vitro study on the burn wound healing activity of cotton fabrics incorporated with phytosynthesized silver nanoparticles in male Wistar albino rats.

In modern therapeutics, chemically synthesized drugs have been reported as causing adverse effects including allergies, rashes, itches, and swelling. For the past few decades, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have widely been applied in medical domains due to their antimicrobial and wound healing properties. In the present study, different concentrations of phytosynthesized AgNPs-saturated cotton dress fabrics - in comparison to cotton fabrics treated with commercial ointment - were tested for 18days to assess their ability to speed the healing of rats' burn wounds. No significant difference in body weight was observed during the course of treatment as compared to the normal rat group. The cotton fabrics observed under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) confirmed the distribution of AgNPs in the cotton fibers. Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) spectrum also authenticated the AgNPs' distribution. At the end of the experimental period, the wound healing efficacy of dressing containing commercial ointment (Burn Heal) was slightly lower than that of treatment containing 100µg/kg of body weight (kg b.w.) of AgNPs. Additionally, it was also observed that the wound contraction area was higher than that of the positive drug 100µg/kg b.w. treated group, which indicates comparatively better-quality activity of ointments with AgNPs with regards to their burn healing properties. The histological and SEM observations showed better fibril alignments in repaired skin when compared with the negative and positive control groups. Perhaps due to the tensile strength of the comparatively higher concentration of nanoparticles, Groups IV and V (which contained the most nanoparticles out of all the groups) showed much better healing properties than did the positive drug treated group VI. Altogether, increased-concentration AgNPs show increased recovery action in comparison to the positive drug treated group. This study provides additional insight into the incorporation of AgNPs in wound dressings for speedy recovery of burn wounds, for improved human welfare.