Bioactivity and Thermal Stability of Collagen–Chitosan Containing Lemongrass Essential Oil for Potential Medical Applications
Maria Râpă,
Traian Zaharescu,
Laura Mihaela Stefan,
Carmen Gaidău,
Ioana Stănculescu,
Rodica Roxana Constantinescu,
Maria Stanca
Affiliations
Maria Râpă
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Traian Zaharescu
INCDIE ICPE CA, 313 Splaiul Unirii, P.O. Box 149, 030138 Bucharest, Romania
Laura Mihaela Stefan
National Institute of R&D for Biological Sciences, 296 Splaiul Independentei, 060031 Bucharest, Romania
Carmen Gaidău
The National Research & Development Institute for Textiles and Leather-Division Leather and Footwear Resesarch Institute (ICPI), 93 Ion Minulescu Street, 031215 Bucharest, Romania
Ioana Stănculescu
Horia Hulubei National Institute of Research and Development for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, 30 Reactorului Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Rodica Roxana Constantinescu
The National Research & Development Institute for Textiles and Leather-Division Leather and Footwear Resesarch Institute (ICPI), 93 Ion Minulescu Street, 031215 Bucharest, Romania
Maria Stanca
The National Research & Development Institute for Textiles and Leather-Division Leather and Footwear Resesarch Institute (ICPI), 93 Ion Minulescu Street, 031215 Bucharest, Romania
Bioactive collagen–chitosan–lemongrass (COL–CS–LG) membranes were prepared by casting method and analyzed for potential biomedical applications. For COL–CS–LG membranes, LG essential oil release, antioxidant properties, in vitro cytotoxicity and antimicrobial assessments were conducted, as well as free radical determination after gamma irradiation by chemiluminescence, and structural characteristics analysis through Attenuated Total Reflection–Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The evaluation of non-isothermal chemiluminescence after gamma radiation exposure to COL–CS–LG membranes revealed a slowing down of the oxidation process at temperatures exceeding 200 °C, in correlation with antioxidant activity. Antimicrobial properties and minimum inhibitory concentrations were found to be in correlation with cytotoxicity limits, offering the optimum composition for designing new biomaterials.
