In vitro Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Activity of Gamma Ray Crosslinked ZnO/PVA Hydrogel Nanocomposites

This research work describes the gamma irradiation synthesis of ZnO/PVA HNC's and their potential application in wound dressing. For synthesizing ZnO/PVA HNC's, the aqueous solution of PVA and ZnO nanoparticles was exposed to gamma radiations. The prepared composites were characterized using XRD, UV, FTIR and FESEM studies. Swelling characteristics of ZnO/PVA HNC's showed decrease in the swelling behaviour with increase in ZnO nanoparticles concentration. Samples were examined for their antibacterial potential against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria and found good antibacterial activity on both the bacteria. In vitro cytotoxicity study was evaluated on Human Fibrosarcoma cells (HT-1080) using SRB assay and demonstrated good biocompatibility. Our results suggest that, ZnO/PVA HNC's synthesised using gamma irradiation could be an ideal biomaterial for wound dressing applications. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.