Application of tragacanth gum and alginate in hydrogel wound dressing's formation using gamma radiation

Abstract

Herein this work, hydrogel wound dressings were formed from polysaccharide tragacanth and alginate gum by radiation induced copolymerization technique. The synthesis, characterizations (cryo-SEM, AFM, FTIR, 13C-NMR, XRD, TGA-DSC) and biomedical tests (wound fluid uptake, haemocompatibility, oxygen permeation, water vapor permeation, mucoadhesion, microbial penetration, mechanical properties and protein adsorption) of the hydrogels were major points of discussion along with the evaluation of drug delivery. Hydrogels absorbed simulated wound fluid of 4.45 ± 0.11 (gram/gram of gel) and were found permeable to O2 and H2O vapour and impermeable to microorganisms. The release profile of antibiotic and anesthetic drugs, (amikacin and lidocaine) obeyed Fickian diffusion. Overall, radiation crosslinking could produce sterile medicated hydrogel dressings with improved mechanical properties to manage the microbial infection and pain of the wounds simultaneously.