Catechol modified sodium alginate/gelatin films reinforced with bio-mediated HNTs for enhanced wound healing applications

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of wounds caused by various causes that can cause complications in the everyday activities of humans is a significant worldwide health issue. Despite recent progress, there remains a substantial demand for efficient wound healing materials, especially for persistent and challenging wounds. The objective of the present work is to design a feasible, viable and efficient wound healing material. Sodium Alginate (SA) has been adopted for its remarkable cell viability and effectiveness in promoting wound healing. It is modified using catechol to enhance cell adhesion and to improve healing. Catechol modified sodium alginate is then blended with gelatin and leucas aspera leaf extract coated halloysite nano tubes (HNT). Leucas aspera is chosen for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The Modified-HNT@catechol-SA/gelatin film is formulated by adopting the solvent casting technique. The resultant films were characterized for functional group changes using FT-IR, crystallinity by XRD, elemental composition by XPS, thermal stability via TGA and hydrophilicity and swelling ratio. The Modified-HNT@catechol-SA/gelatin film showed higher ZOI of about 18 mm and 19 mm against E. coli and S. aureus, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential (> 50%), MTT assay showed > 90% of cell viability against L929 cell lines and in-vitro scratch assay revealed 89.5 ± 1.27% of wound closure using L929 cell lines. Based on the findings, it is evident that the developed polymeric nanocomposite thin film will be considered for wound healing applications. Furthermore, the implementation in in-vivo wound healing studies is essential for the validation of the material in clinical applications.