Bano I, et al. International journal of biological macromolecules, 2019, 124, 155-162.
For chitosan-PVA soft films made from low molecular weight chitosan as a natural biomaterial for low cost wound dressings, these films were prepared and compared with commercially available wound healing agents. In a rabbit model with second-degree burns, chitosan was studied for wound healing in order to test the antimicrobial effect on bacterial pathogens. The low molecular weight chitosan was effective against bacteria. Experiments with second-degree burns revealed chitosan as a key wound dressing healing material.
Preparation of chitosan-PVA soft films
· Chitosan (98.0% deacetylation, 15 kDa molecular weight) was in solution in acetic acid, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (98.0-98.8 mol% hydrolysis, polymerization 4600-mid to 195 kDa molecular weight) was in solution in water, respectively. The solutions of chitosan and PVA were then mixed and glycerol (2%) was slowly added with stirring at 55-60 °C for at least 30 minutes.
· Then tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was added to the mixture as a crosslinker in 4% concentration, and it was left to produce membranes. The films were then removed, rinsed to flush away any reactants, and kept in desiccators for analysis. The chitosan-PVA combinations were different in the ratio of chitosan to PVA, and the membranes produced were designated CP80, CP50 and CP20 according to the proportion of chitosan.
