Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed mucilage (a heteropolysaccharide) based antimicrobial hydrogel scaffold for wound healing: In vitro-in-vivo characterization

Abstract

Wound healing is an intricate process necessitating the utilization of innovative bioactive materials to enhance and expedite recovery. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels for wound dressing have garnered significant attention due to their commendable biocompatibility, biodegradability, and non-toxic properties. Consequently, this study will design zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONP) and allantoin (AT) incorporated chia seed mucilage (CSM) based antimicrobial hydrogel scaffold via solvent casting method to accelerate the wound healing process. The confirmation of an ideal CSM/20 %ZnONP/AT hydrogel scaffold is achieved through spectral analysis and assessment of mechanical properties. The scaffold exhibits notable characteristics, including 36.99 % of porosity, 20.34 degrees of swelling, 63.38 % of water retention capacity, and 11.16 % of moisture content. Importantly, the hydrogel demonstrates no cytotoxicity towards normal cell lines (log p > 0.05), high drug loading efficiency (98.75 %), and 34.16 % release of AT within 8 h, following a first-order release (R2 = 0.9892). Additionally, it manifests good antibacterial and antifungal activity attributed to the presence of ZnONP within the scaffold. In vivo studies conducted using a Wistar rat model displayed a substantial reduction in wound size (90.70 %) within 14 days compared to the control group. Histopathological analysis indicates the dynamic progression of the healing process facilitated by the application of AT in conjunction with CSM and ZnONP. The enhanced performance of the CSM/20 %ZnONP/AT hydrogel scaffold is attributed to the distinctive characteristics of CSM, ZnONP, and AT. This study anticipates that CSM-based hydrogel scaffolds will pave the way for novel and promising applications in the field of wound healing.