Reinforcing chitosan film with a natural nanofiller “Zein-methyl cellulose loaded curcumin” for improving its physicochemical properties and wound healing activity

Selecting the appropriate biomaterials for fabricating a wound dressing is an essential issue for accelerating the process of wound healing. The biopolymer “chitosan” attracted attention owing to its non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, chitosan showed poor mechanical, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. These limitations can be encountered by its conjugation with a nanofiller reinforcing and improving the film properties. The proposed nanofiller, derived from zein-methylcellulose loaded curcumin (ZeinMCNPs) was incorporated with different concentrations into a chitosan matrix (Ch) forming Ch/ZeinMCNPs1–3 films. Ch/ZeinMCNPs3 film showed a significant improvement in tensile strength, elongation at break% and Young's modulus over Ch film. Notably, the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the Ch/ZeinMCNP1–3 films signified enhancement over chitosan. In wound rat model, wound healing contraction reached 96 % and 98 % for Ch/ZeinMCNPs2,3 opposite to 79 % for Ch film. In Ch/ZeinMCNPs2,3 treated wounds, H&E tissues sections revealed a reduction in inflammation, an enhancement in re-epithelization and neovascularization. Furthermore, Ch/ZeinMCNPs2,3 films boosted more collagen deposition as shown in MTC sections. Ch/ZeinMCNPs2,3 significantly increased SOD level (at day 7 and14) with a decrease in MDA level. Overall, the present study declares Ch/ZeinMCNPs nanocomposite film as a multifunctional wound dressing category covering the necessitates required for accelerating wound healing process safely.