Wound healing activity of Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol embedded by gold nanoparticles prepared by nanosecond laser ablation

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesized via laser ablation technique were incorporated into polymeric blend of Chitosan (CS)/Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) in different contents via controlling the time of ablation. The prepared films were studied via XRD and FTIR. Moreover, microstructural and morphological behaviors were investigated. The AuNPs were formed as spherical shapes scattered through the polymeric blend with diameters around 20 nm composition prepared at ablation time of 10.0 min. In addition, the crystallinity of the composition was enhanced significantly with AuNPs contribution. The antibacterial activity was examined under visible light to show the effect of AuNPs. The inhibition zones have grown from 4.2 +/- 0.9 mm to be 13.1 +/- 1.3 mm against E. coli and from 6.4 +/- 1.2 mm to be 24.8 +/- 2.4 mm against S. aureus for the lowest and the highest contributions of AuNPs respectively. This significant enhancement of the antibacterial activity of AuNPs scattered through biopolymer could suggest these compositions for more investigations in biomedical applications such as wound dressing and disinfection. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.