Abstract:
Burn wounds have the highest rate of disabilities in world. The extensive fluid
loss, damage to the tissues, regulating the body temperature and prevention of
bacteria perform by the skin are the major challenges. Different polymers
incorporated with antibacterial agents have been studied previously to
synthesize hydrogels which can enhance the healing efficiency. This study is
focused on the fabrication and characterization of polymeric hydrogel
composed of Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and Poly (2-Acrylamido-2-Methyl
Propane Sulfonic Acid) P(AMPS) has heparin mimicking structure which will
enhance the healing efficiency. Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) of
different shapes (rod, floral and hexagonal) were fabricated and embedded as
antibacterial agents to study the healing properties of hydrogel. Furthermore,
graphitic carbon nitrate (g-C3N4) was incorporated in the hydrogel to enhance
the thermal and mechanical stability of the hydrogel. The maximum tensile
strength without ZnO NPs was calculated for “S4” 44 MPa and it increased to
65 MPa when ZnO NPs were incorporated for “S8”. The synthesized ZnO NPs,
and nanocomposite hydrogel were confirmed by different characterization
techniques i.e. XRD, SEM, UV-vis, and Raman. The size range of ZnO NPs
studied using S(T)EM are 10-20nm, 500-600nm and 700-800nm for
hexagonal, floral and rod shaped respectively. Antibacterial activity was
investigated against E. coli and S. aureus. The maximum zone of inhibition
was calculated for “S8” i.e., 24.33mm ± 0.11 and 27.66mm ± 0.20 against E.
coli and S. aures respectively. MTT assay for cell viability % was performed.
For low concentration and higher amount of ZnO NPs the results were between
80-90% for ZnO hexagonal and rod. The moisture retention capacity (<90%)
water vapor transmission rate (27.68-81.95g/m2
h) and swelling ability (140%)
results demonstrated that the hydrogel was capable of absorbing large volumes
of wound extrudes. Hexagonal shaped ZnO NPs embedded in hydrogel
resulted in the best healing efficiency within 9 days as compared to floral and
rod shaped. The synthesized particles embedded in the prepared hydrogel
demonstrated the potential to be used as antibacterial agent which enhance the
healing efficiency and can be used as wound dressing for partial and full
thickness excision wounds.
