Chitosan-hyaluronic acid hybrid film as a novel wound dressing: in vitro and in vivo studies

Wound dressing with high quality is a kind of highly demanded wound-repairing products. In this article, chitosan (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) were used to fabricate a novel wound dressing. CS/HA composite films with high transparency could be fabricated on glass or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrates, but not on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) plate. Along with the increase of HA amount, the resulting films became rougher as detected by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Increased also are water contact angle and water-uptake ratio. By contrast, increase of the HA amount weakened the water vapor permeability (WVP), bovine albumin adsorption, and fibroblast adhesion, which are desirable characteristics for wound dressing. In vivo animal test revealed that compared with the vaseline gauge the CS/HA film could more effectively accelerate the wound healing, and reduce the occurrence of re-injury when peeling off the dressing again. These results demonstrate that the CS mixed with a little amount of HA may produce inexpensive wound dressing with good properties for practical applications. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.