Carboxymethyl cellulose/polyvinylpyrrolidone bio-composite hydrogels enriched with clove bud extracts for enhanced wound healing

In contrast to conventional chemical treatments, medicinal plants are more secure and efficient in treating wounds without the risk of adverse effects. Traditional wound dressings have no antibacterial features, and have an inadequate water vapour transmission rate (WVTR). Clove extracts (CE) were developed in this study to make the dressings more effective in humans. The morphological, physical, mechanical, biological, and antibacterial properties of CMC/PVP biocomposite films were explored with different clove extract (CE) concentrations (2 %, 4 %, and 6 %). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations demonstrated the structural relationships involving CMC, PVP, and CE in the reinforced samples. The TGA results validate the CMC/PVP/CE bio-composite hydrogel’s potential for usage in medicinal applications. The developed bio-composite hydrogels showed > 87 % cell viability against Vero cells, were favourable to cell growth, and had a significant zone of inhibition against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. CMC/PVP/CE (6 %) bio-composite hydrogel enhanced wound healing in albino mice within 12 days, had a WVTR of 2310 g/m²-day and an ESR% of 1712 %. In addition, the results of the histological examination corroborated the observations of faster tissue regeneration, less inflammatory cells, and enhanced vascularity of the surrounding skin. The overall results encourage and show that CMC/PVP/CE (6 %) bio-composite hydrogels have a lot of potential uses in the biomedical field, especially for wound healing.