Fabrication and characterization of glycerol/chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol-based transparent hydrogel films loaded with silver nanoparticles for antibacterial wound dressing applications

Abstract

Background: Wounds have a bad prognostic nature and excessive discharges whose regular wound dressings are ineffective. Hydrogels are the best candidates for dressing such wounds due to their high water content and ability to exchange substances. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to make a novel hydrogel wound dressing following the integration of various findings on wound healing and the use of regenerative medicine. Materials and Methods: Various compounds were fabricated by glycerol/chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and then characterized to obtain the optimal composition using several techniques, including a water vapor passage test, scanning electron microscopy, water absorption, tensile strength, biodegradability, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and antibacterial test. Results: The findings revealed the optimal dressing ratio. Better antibacterial activity was found for the silver nanoparticle (AgNP) dressing. Conclusion: Our new fabricated dressing, glycerol/chitosan/PVA hydrogel loaded with AgNPs, exhibited satisfactory wound healing properties.