Synthesis of polymeric hydrogels incorporating chlorhexidine gluconate as antibacterial wound dressings

Abstract

Antibacterial hydrogels based on poly(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate) and gelatin and incorporating chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) as a drug were fabricated. The work focused on the effects of varying the CHG concentration. The hydrogel containing 0.02% w/v of CHG was chosen as the drug-loaded hydrogel for comparison with the hydrogel with no drug. From the drug release results, it was found that only 2-5% CHG was released, indicating that the CHG strongly interacted with the hydrogel network. To confirm the antibacterial efficiency of the hydrogels, the shake-flask method and scanning electron microscopy were employed. The antibacterial activity of the drug-loaded hydrogels showed a 7-log reduction for S. aureus gram-positive and a 5-6-log reduction for E. coli gram-negative bacteria. In addition, an MTT assay was performed to evaluate their potential cytotoxicity and showed a percentage cell viability after 24 h of more than 70% which classified them as being non-cytotoxic. In conclusion, the hydrogels containing CHG are considered as one of the interesting candidates for potential biomedical use as antibacterial wound dressings. Further in vivo investigations are planned.

Keywords:

• Sodium-2-acrylamido-2-methylprpane sulfonate
• gelatin
• chlorhexidine gluconate
• hydrogel
• wound dressing
• antibacterial activity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research work was partially supported by Chiang Mai University and the Science Achievement Scholarship of Thailand (SAST) for financial support. The authors also would like to thank the Graduate School, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Tissue Regeneration Systems, Inc. Plymouth, MI, USA.