In situ synthesized chitosan–gelatin/ZnO nanocomposite scaffold with drug delivery properties: Higher antibacterial and lower cytotoxicity effects

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this work, chitosan–gelatin/zinc oxide nanocomposite hydrogel scaffolds (CS–GEL/nZnO) were prepared via in situ synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (nZnO) to reach a scaffold with both inherent antibacterial and drug delivery properties. The prepared nanocomposite hydrogel scaffolds were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. In addition, swelling, biodegradation, antibacterial, cytocompatibility, and cell attachment of the scaffolds were evaluated. The results showed that the prepared scaffolds had high porosity with a pore size of 50–400 μm and nZnO were well distributed without any agglomeration on the CS–GEL matrix. In addition, the nanocomposite scaffolds showed enhanced swelling, biodegradation, and antibacterial properties. Moreover, the drug delivery studies using naproxen showed that nZnO could control naproxen release. Cytocompatibility of the samples was proved using normal human dermal fibroblast cells (HFF2). In comparison to the previous reports which nZnO were simply added to the matrix of the scaffold, in situ synthesis of nZnO was led to higher antibacterial and lower cytotoxicity effects as a result of well distribution of nZnO in this method. According to the findings, the in situ synthesized CS–GEL/nZnO is strongly recommended for biomedical applications especially skin tissue engineering. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47590.