Preparation, characterization and biological evaluations of hybrid nanosystems as wound healing potentiators

Abstract

Hybrid materials comprising zinc oxide and nanocellulose have been widely explored for a good number of applications, including wound healing/dressing related purposes. However, investigation of wound healing materials has been more focused on bacterial nanocellulose-based zinc oxide hybrid composites, which utilize a form of nanocellulose that is significantly more expensive to obtain due to its nature. This work aims the obtention of sustainable and safe nanocellulose-based zinc oxide hybrid composites as wound healing materials. For this purpose, in-situ synthesis’ conditions were explored, employing in-situ hydrothermal and sol-gel synthetic approaches, where the impact of various reactional parameters (reagents ratio; temperature; time; washing and drying methods) on the structural properties of obtained materials was explored. Successful obtention of all different materials was attested via Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, which were characterized on a structural level by: FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectroscopy (for study of nanocellulose characteristic vibrations); by Powder X-ray analysis (evaluation of diffraction patterns and crystallinity) and by electronic microscopy, through SEM (Scanning Electron Microsccopy) and TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy). Obtained hybrid materials of nanocellulose/ZnO, that showed robustness and differentiating structural characteristics, were studied in vitro for determination of safe concentration through cytotoxicity tests performed on HaCaT cells, and their wound healing potential was also evaluated through in vitro assay.

Date of Award	18 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Carla Patrícia Fernandes Pereira (Supervisor), Oscar Leandro Ramos (Co-Supervisor) & João Azevedo Silva (Co-Supervisor)