Poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan/honey/clay responsive nanocomposite hydrogel wound dressing

Many efforts have been made to develop modern wound dressings to overcome limitations of traditional ones. Smart nanocomposite hydrogels are appropriate candidates. In this work, a novel responsive nanocomposite hydrogel based on poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan/honey/clay was developed and evaluated as a novel wound dressing. The morphology and properties of synthesized nanocomposite hydrogels loaded with honey as a drug model were investigated. The exfoliated morphology of nanocomposite was confirmed by X-ray diffractometry. Swelling studies were performed at 20 and 37 degrees C at various pH. The results showed that swelling increased as a result of temperature rise and maximum swelling occurred at a pH of 2. In vitro release of honey was also studied at the same conditions. Corresponding results indicated faster honey release rate at higher pH values. MTT results exhibited no cytotoxicity in nanocomposite hydrogel system. Investigation of antibacterial activity revealed more than 99% antibacterial activity for proposed system. In vivo results confirmed the wound healing ability of developed system. Generally, appropriate properties of proposed system made it ideal in wound dressing applications. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46311.