Preparation and characterization of wound dressing biocomposite films based on chitosan and gelatin

They have been conducted many studies to develop new wound dressing materials which plays critical role in the healing process. The purpose of wound healing is to recover speedily with minimal scarring and maximal function with assistance of wound dressings by keeping wounds sterile to prevent infections, absorbing liquid in a way that prevents blood from flowing out and in cases of natural tissue preservation without deterioration of skin integrity. Recently, the development of wound dressings based on biodegradable and reproducible polymers has led to their growing interest. Furthermore, these natural polymers can better simulate the extracellular matrixs, cheap and promote wound healing. In this study, it was aimed to develop wound dressing films using polysaccharide based biopolymers. Various films of chitosan polysaccharide, known to play an active role in wound healing, and gelatin, an animal bioprotein, have been prepared. Glycerin and tween 80 were using as plasticizer and their ratio was kept in 1:1. The effects of the propolis and St John's Wort that are antimicrobial extracts on the wound dressing films properties were investigated. As wound dressing film structures were confirmed by FTIR and optical microscope its physical properties such as thickness, mass, water vapor permission (WVP), %water absorption capacity, %water content and dressing pH were determined. Also antimicrobial activities were determined by the agar disc diffusion method for gram positive (S. aureus, B. subtilis) and gram negative (S. typhi E. Coli) microorganisms. The film were prepared without any additives have highest water absorption capacities, water contents, water vapor permeabilities and these values are in range %107-646, %6.4-23.1, 0.375-0.806 gm/m2sPa respectively. When propolis ratio increased on the film composition water content increase too for all the films. Also ph values of films were range of 5.26-7.66 and these values are suitable for wound dressing application. Wound dressing films showed good inhibitory activity against all the four different microorganisms. Our result suggested that chitosan based wound dressing films are including propolis and St John's Worths can be used for wound healing application.