Drug Release and Antimicrobial Properties of Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogel Wound Dressing Containing Drug Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles

The main objective of the present work was to investigate the effect of chitosan nanoparticles application on drug release and antimicrobial properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogeles applied as wound dressing. The nanoparticles loaded by tetracycline were prepared by the ionic gelation method. Corresponding to SEM micrographs observation, the average size of the spherical nanoparticles was about 65 nm. The PVA hydrogels with neat tetracycline and the hydrogel samples with the drug loaded nanoparticles were prepared by the irradiation method at different doses (20, 25 and 30 kGy). Based on the physical properties and the drug release intensity, the dose of 25 kGy was determined as the optimum value. The results of drug release studies indicated that use of the drug loaded nanoparticles, instead of the drug, within the hydrogel resulted in a better control of the drug release. Also, the antibacterial properties were significantly more pronounced for the hydrogel sample with the nanoparticles as compared to the one with the drug.

Keywords:

Chitosan nanoparticles , PVA , Hydrogel , Drug release , Wound dressing