Bioactive hydrogel (ZIF-8@CMC-PVA-SA) as dressing materials for wound healing applications
Muhammad Umar Aslam Khan, Mohamed Hashem, Hassan Fouad, Hayat M. Albishi, Thamir M. Eid, Abdalla Abdal‐hay, Anwarul Hasan
Abstract
Skin wounds are a major medical challenge, requiring dressings that maintain moisture to promote healing in the complex wound environment. In this work, composite hydrogels were developed by crosslinking CMC , PVA , and SA with TEOS using a straightforward blending method. The composite hydrogels integrated with ZiF-8 into the polymeric matrix were characterized using advanced techniques, including FTIR, XRD , SEM-EDX, and AFM. The physicochemical behavior was evaluated by swelling in different media (electrolyte (with different concentrations), Aqueous and PBS (with different pH)), wetting, and biodegradation in PBS media at 37 °C. The hydrogels with maximum ZiF-8 have maximum swelling in aqueous (1692.54 ± 7.2 %), PBS (1409.67 ± 9.5 %), and electrolyte NaCl (954.4 ± 9.3 %), and CaCl 2 (975.95 ± 4.5 %)) media. Cell viability , proliferation, and morphology were used to examine the cytocompatibility behavior against fibroblast (3t3) cell lines. The hydrogel sample SCP-3 exhibited maximum cell viability and proliferation with mature cell morphology. The results showed that the fabricated composite hydrogels are pH-responsive and biocompatible. Collectively, the fabricated composite hydrogels exhibit high potential as bioactive, pH-responsive wound dressings , ideal for managing wound exudate in healing applications.