Preparation of thiolated chitosan/silver nanowire composite hydrogels with antimicrobial activity for obstetric wound care

Abstract

Bacterial infection is one of the most crucial challenges toward the wound treatment. Thus, the development of highly efficient antibacterial agents with enhanced wound healing ability is of great importance. For addressing these issues, we report on the synthesis of a green nanocomposite hydrogel dressing by introducing the silver nanowire into thiolated chitosan scaffold hydrogel films (TCS/AgNW). The TCS/AgNW hydrogels were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The produced TCS/AgNW composite hydrogels dressing exhibited a suitable short-term cytocompatibility, and improved antimicrobial activity. Further more, the in vivo evaluation in pregnant rabbits revealed that such composite hydrogels dressing had an enhanced wound healing effect on small and superficial skin wounds of the female rabbits. These results indicate that the prepared TCS/AgNW hydrogels dressing are promising candidates for efficient wound healing in obstetric care.