Fabrication and characterisation of antibacterial porous alginate/aloe vera structures containing chitosan nanoparticles for wound dressing applications

ABSTRACT

In order to develop a wound dressing with antibacterial activity, vancomycin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (V-CNPs) were incorporated into alginate/aloe vera (Alg/Av) porous matrices. According to the SEM micrographs, Alg/Av/CNP dressings had porous structures and mean pore diameter was 109 ± 34 µm. The DSC graphs showed that adding aloe vera increases the stability of the scaffold. The FTIR results were used to characterise the main functional groups of the biopolymers in the dressings. Mechanical analysis confirmed the improvement of tensile strength of the scaffold by incorporation of chitosan NPs. Tensile strength of NP-loaded Alg/Av dressings was increased to 0.13 ± 0.02 MPa. The drug release profiles showed that 41% of vancomycin was released from Alg/Av/VCNP dressings after 24 hours. According to the antibacterial test, adding vancomycin-loaded NPs in Alg/Av dressings inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. The findings confirmed that the vancomycin-loaded Alg/Av dressing is a potential candidate for wound dressing applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Alginate
• aloe vera
• wound dressing
• chitosan nanoparticles
• vancomycin

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.