Evaluation of chitosan nano dressing for wound healing: Characterization, in vitro and in vivo studies

In our present investigation, a ternary nano dressing consists of titanium dioxide nano particle loaded chitosan pectin was prepared to evaluate biocompatibility, antimicrobial and in vivo wound healing properties. The photoactive property of TiO2 based materials makes it important candidate for numerous medical applications. Chitosan can be easily processed into membranes, gels, nanofibers, beads, nanoparticles, scaffolds, and sponge forms that can be used in wound healing applications. Pectin acts as a natural prophylactic substance against poisoning with toxic cations and its styptic and curing effects are well documented in healing ointments. The characterizations of prepared nano dressing were made by FTIR, TGA, DSC, SEM and TEM. The physicochemical parameters of nano dressing were evaluated by various techniques, namely, the Whole blood clotting test, haemolysis ratio measurement, cytotoxicity test using NIH3T3 and L929 fibroblast cells. The in vivo open excision-type wound healing efficiency of prepared nano dressing and its comparison with conventional gauze were evaluated by measuring wound contraction and histological examinations in adult male albino rats. The synergistic effects of nano dressing such as good antibacterial ability, high swelling properties, high water vapour transmission rate (WVTR), excellent hydrophilic nature, biocompatibility, wound appearance, wound closure rate and histological study through in vivo test makes it a suitable candidate for wound healing applications. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.