Formulation and Evaluation of 7, 8- Dihydroxy Flavone Loaded Topical Hydrogel Scaffold

Abstract

Burnt skin tissue defects pose a significant challenge for physicians to manage owing to the limited skin regeneration potential. Various conventional approaches (i.e. autografts and allografts) have been endorsed for the restoration of tissue defects with inadequate results. However, skin tissue engineering techniques were appeared as an optimistic approach to improve the skin tissue regeneration. Hydrogels offering advantages over the current treatment modalities of the damaged skin tissue were proposed as an advanced and promising therapeutic approach for effective skin tissue regeneration. In general, an ideal hydrogel scaffold used for burnt skin tissue regeneration must show excellent biodegradability, biocompatibility and bioadhesive characteristics. Moreover, among the variety of several hydrogel scaffolds for skin tissue regeneration, topical hydrogels developed from both natural and synthetic polymers are likely to fulfil these above characteristics. In this study Novel 7, 8- Dihydroxy flavone loaded PVA/Agar hydrogel was developed using the facile physical cross-linking technique. Further, the characterization studies confirmed that this hydrogel scaffold possess an ideal porous cross linked structure along with excellent Hemocompatibility, cellular proliferation and controlled drug release. Histopathological staining’s provided further evidence for the reepithelization, and revascularization potential of the developed hydrogel scaffold. Moreover, our research findings revealed that the 7, 8- Dihydroxy flavone loaded PVA/Agar hydrogel is hemocomapatible and capable of burnt skin tissue repair and also possesses significant potential for skin tissue engineering.