Fabrication of tragacanthin gum-carboxymethyl chitosan bio-nanocomposite wound dressing with silver-titanium nanoparticles using freeze-drying method

Abstract

Wound healing is one of the most complex processes that our body has to do, which in some cases is not able to heal itself and needs external stimuli. Controlling wound progression, increasing quality, and accelerating wound healing is the key to solving this global challenge. The use of biological agents in wound dressings is an effective way to modify all aspects of wound healing and has the potential to guide the healing process toward greater recovery. Bio-nanocomposites have always been considered as one of the pre-designed materials and received the attention of bioengineer researchers. In this research, Tragacanthin Gum-Carboxymethyl Chitosan (TG-CMC) bio-nanocomposite wound dressing containing akermanite nanoparticles with different weight percentages of AgO–TiO2 was fabricated using the freeze-drying method. The objectives of this study were to investigate tensile strength, bioactivity, and biodegradability properties. The physical and chemical properties of the wound dress were assessed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscope (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) techniques. Also, the bioactivity and biodegradability of wound dressings were characterized by immersion of samples in Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS). As a result, the toxicity test of the sample containing 10 wt % AgO–TiO2 oxides has the lower toxicity about 0.943–0.948. The obtained results show that the porosity of the wound dressings is about 65%–79%, which increases by 0.8 with the addition of Ag–TiO2 nanoparticles. As the percentage of porosity increased, it was determined that the tensile strength of the wound patches decreased from 0.35 MPa to 0.15 MPa. The wound dress weight loss results show that the highest weight loss belongs to the sample containing the highest amount of AgO/TiO2. Therefore, the pure sample and the sample with 15 wt% have weight loss about 75% and 81%. The results show that the samples were porous and had interconnected porosities which increased in the presence of akermanite nanoparticles.