To decipher the antibacterial mechanism and promotion of wound healing activity by hydrogels embedded with biogenic Ag@ZnO core-shell nanocomposites

Chronic wound infections are one of the major causes of clinical complexities and contribute to the ever increasing burden on the health care system in low and middle income countries. Efficacious interventions are needed for the management of chronic wounds. Here, we report the development of hydrogels embedded with biogenic Ag@ZnO core-shell nanocomposites (NCs) for wound healing applications in mouse model. Ag@ZnO NCs were synthesized by coating ZnO on the surface of biogenic Ag nanoparticles (NPs) which has been formed using the leaf extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa. Further, Ag@ZnO based hydrogels system was synthesized using two polymers, viz. polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) through physical cross-linking method. Antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of Ag@ZnO NCs has been investigated and obtained data confirms that the NCs have shown remarkable activity towards S. aureus and MRSA. The potential mechanism of antibacterial activity was found to be ROS dependent. Biocompatibility of Ag@ZnO has been studied on RAW 264.7 and 3T3 cell lines and reduced toxicity has been observed towards both cell lines. Further, PVP/PVA/Ag@ZnO embedded hydrogels have revealed impressive antibacterial action against S. aureus, MRSA and P. aeruginosa through reduced cytotoxicity towards RAW 264.7 cells. Due to its biocompatible nature, Ag@ZnO embedded hydrogels have shown improved wound healing efficacy in mouse model (Balb/c) and induced the immunological response by activating some essential growth factors. Obtained data suggests that as synthesized hydrogels dressing system could be useful for the enhancement of wound healing rate in different physiological surroundings.

Automated summary

The study developed hydrogels embedded with biogenic Ag@ZnO core-shell nanocomposites for wound healing applications in a mouse model. The hydrogels showed remarkable antibacterial activity and high biocompatibility, effectively targeting S. aureus, MRSA, and P. aeruginosa while improving wound healing efficacy in the mouse model. It suggests the potential of the synthesized hydrogels dressing system to enhance wound healing rate in different physiological surroundings.