Fabrication of hybrid povidone-iodine impregnated collagen-hydroxypropyl methylcellulose composite scaffolds for wound-healing application

Abstract

Biomaterials derived from biological resources are advantageous in tissue engineering owing to their biocompatibility. This work presents the fabrication of a collagen composite scaffold in combination with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). Based on FTIR spectroscopic analysis, it is established that the native structure of collagen (Col) is unaltered with the addition of HPMC in making collagen-HPMC (ColH) composite scaffolds. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination shows a smooth surface with interconnected pores in the prepared hybrid scaffolds. Considering the mechanical properties, collagen degradation, and biocompatibility, the ColH scaffold comprising 1:1.5 (w/w) of Col: HPMC was found to be optimum for applications such as wound healing and other soft tissue engineering applications. In order to determine drug loading ability of the ColH scaffold, Povidone-iodide (PI) was used as a model drug. PI loaded ColH exhibited controlled release of the drug. Further, the in vitro studies of the synthesized drug-loaded ColH scaffold showed that they effectively facilitated the proliferation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts cells without exhibiting toxicity. This study establishes the possibility of using ColH as an effective and advanced option for regenerative tissue engineering applications.