Incorporation of Bioglass Improved the Mechanical Stability and Bioactivity of Alginate/Carboxymethyl Chitosan Hydrogel Wound Dressing.

Abstract

Recently, hydrogel wound dressings were popular in wound healing because of their advantages over traditional gauze dressings. The alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan (SA/CMCS) hydrogel wound dressing has been widely studied because of its biocompatibility and antibacterial ability. However, the poor mechanical stability and lack of bioactivity limit their applications. Bioglass (BG) has been well acknowledged as a bioactive material, and SA/BG hydrogels have been reported to be able to promote wound healing. Calcium ions released from BG can further cross-link SA, which may enhance the mechanical stability of the SA/CMCS hydrogels. Therefore, in this study, BG was incorporated into SA/CMCS hydrogel in order to obtain a bioactive alginate/CMCS/BG (SA/CMCS/BG) hydrogel wound dressing with improved mechanical stability. Results showed that the Young's modulus of SA/CMCS/BG hydrogel was three times higher than that of SA/CMCS hydrogel. In addition to better antibacterial and coagulation properties, SA/CMCS/BG hydrogels possess stronger bioactivity than SA/CMCS hydrogels as they could accelerate skin wound closure by regulating the host inflammation responses, stimulating angiogenesis, and enhancing collagen deposition in wound sites, which suggests that SA/CMCS/BG hydrogels are good candidates for clinic wound dressings.