Foam-based antibacterial hydrogel composed of carboxymethyl cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol/cerium oxide nanoparticles for potential wound dressing

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules 2024-12, Vol.291, p.138924, Article 138924
• Main Authors: Orhan, Burcu, Karadeniz, Duygu, Kalaycıoğlu, Zeynep, Kaygusuz, Hakan, Torlak, Emrah, Erim, F. Bedia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibacterial; Biopolymer; Drug release; Nanoceria; Wound healing
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138924

Foam-based wound dressing materials produced by dispersing gas phases in a polymeric material are soft, adapt to the body shape, and allow the absorption of wound exudate due to their porous structure. Most of these formulations are based on synthetic substances such as polyurethane. However, biopolymers have entered the field as a new player thanks to their biocompatible and sustainable nature. Incorporating biopolymers in formulations is gaining interest in scientific literature, and we extend this approach by adding antibacterial cerium oxide nanoparticles to biopolymer formulation. We introduce a novel biopolymer composite of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs), namely PVA-CMC@CeO2. This mixture was first foamed and then cross-linked with sodium tetraborate solution, followed by a freeze-thaw process. After the novel material's spectroscopic, structural, and morphological characterization, we investigated its swelling, drug-delivery, antibacterial, and biodegradability properties PVA-CMC@CeO2 dressing effectively inhibits Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) growth and delivers the antibiotic drug silver sulfadiazine for up to 6 h. The antibacterial properties, good swelling, and drug release profile of the blend material show promising potential in wound care applications. •Nanoceria (CeO2 NPs) was incorporated into PVA-CMC foam gels.•PVA-CMC@CeO2 foam gel has an average pore size of 127 μm.•CeO2 NPs increased the swelling ratio of the foam gel to %1057 within 1 h.•CeO2 NPs enhanced the antibacterial activity of the PVA-CMC foam gels.•PVA-CMC@CeO2 foam gel enables drug release nearly completely within 6 h.