Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed mucilage (a heteropolysaccharide) based antimicrobial hydrogel scaffold for wound healing: In vitro-in-vivo characterization

Abstract

Wound healing is an intricate process necessitating the utilization of innovative bioactive materials to enhance and expedite recovery. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels for wound dressing have garnered significant attention due to their commendable biocompatibility, biodegradability, and non-toxic properties. Consequently, this study will design zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONP) and allantoin (AT) incorporated chia seed mucilage (CSM) based antimicrobial hydrogel scaffold via solvent casting method to accelerate the wound healing process. The confirmation of an ideal CSM/20 %ZnONP/AT hydrogel scaffold is achieved through spectral analysis and assessment of mechanical properties. The scaffold exhibits notable characteristics, including 36.99 % of porosity, 20.34 degrees of swelling, 63.38 % of water retention capacity, and 11.16 % of moisture content. Importantly, the hydrogel demonstrates no cytotoxicity towards normal cell lines (log p > 0.05), high drug loading efficiency (98.75 %), and 34.16 % release of AT within 8 h, following a first-order release (R2 = 0.9892). Additionally, it manifests good antibacterial and antifungal activity attributed to the presence of ZnONP within the scaffold. In vivo studies conducted using a Wistar rat model displayed a substantial reduction in wound size (90.70 %) within 14 days compared to the control group. Histopathological analysis indicates the dynamic progression of the healing process facilitated by the application of AT in conjunction with CSM and ZnONP. The enhanced performance of the CSM/20 %ZnONP/AT hydrogel scaffold is attributed to the distinctive characteristics of CSM, ZnONP, and AT. This study anticipates that CSM-based hydrogel scaffolds will pave the way for novel and promising applications in the field of wound healing.

Keywords

• Chia seed mucilage
• Hydrogel
• Zinc oxide nanoparticles
• Allantoin
• Antimicrobial
• Wound healing