Preparation of antibacterial wound dressing via click photo-polymerization reaction

Introduction When skin is wounded, a proper wound dressing can be used to protect the wounded skin from further contamination or secondary injuries. Proper dressing can also accelerate the healing process at the wounded tissue. There are different synthetic strategies for the preparation of versatile wound dressing membranes, among various possibilities, click polymerization reaction with unique characteristics such as versatility, mild reaction condition, high efficiency and independence to the reaction medium is selected in this work. Methods Specifically, photochemical thiol-yne type click reaction was utilized in this study for the preparation of intended wound dressing. To initiate chain growth and impart antimicrobial activity in this dressing backbone composed of a thiol-terminated-polyurethane prepolymer and a bi-propyne-urethane monomer, simultaneous photochemical polymerization and a single electron transfer to impregnated silver ions were performed. Silver particles with nano size and proper distribution within dressing membrane were produced by this method. Results Behavior of the dressing membrane was evaluated against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, and a fungal strain and the recorded results confirmed its efficient antimicrobial activity. In addition, this dressing showed proper biocompatibility and could support proper growth and proliferation of fibroblast cells as determined by scratch wound healing assay. Conclusion Finally, based on mechanical strength and optimized fluid handling capacity, the selected dressing enabled proper protection and maintain ideal moist environment over wounded skin tissue.

Keywords:

Skin , Wound dressing , Click chemistry , Photo-polymerization , Antibacterial activity