Polydopamine coated ZnO rod-shaped nanoparticles with noticeable biocompatibility, hemostatic and antibacterial activity

Abstract

Blood loss and bacterial infections are two primary reasons for mortality in injuries. Many efforts have been made to deal with these issues. Here, polydopamine coated ZnO (PDA@ZnO) nanoparticles were introduced for wound healing application. After green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using Aloe Vera extract, a one-step, and straightforward approach was employed to surface modify nanoparticles with PDA. The finding confirmed the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles with rod-shaped morphology provided a large surface for bacteria contact. Moreover, a uniform PDA layer, with an average thickness of 23 ± 2 nm, was formed on the surface of nanoparticles, without any significant effect on their morphology. Besides, PDA@ZnO demonstrated a high potential to create blood clotting due to its negative surface charge, BCI halved after ZnO nanoparticle modification. The findings also indicated that PDA@ZnO nanoparticles were not only non-toxic toward human cells but also significantly promoted cell survival compared to ZnO nanoparticles. In summary, PDA@ZnO nanoparticles could be promising for wound healing applications.