Development of wound therapy in nursing care of infants by using injectable gelatin-cellulose composite hydrogel incorporated with silver nanoparticles

Nano silver material has been regarded as a kind of promising candidate for biomedical application due to its low cytotoxicity and striking antibacterial activity. In this study, an injectable silver-gelatin-cellulose ternary hydrogel dressing was prepared by the introduction of gelatin and aminated silver nanoparticles into the carboxylated cellulose nanofibers for efficient wound therapy in infant nursing. The produced silver nanoparticles and composite hydrogel were characterized by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The as-synthesized silver-cellulose-gelatin ternary hydrogel demonstrated high porosity and satisfactory antibacterial activity. In vitro cytocompatibility measurement revealed the very low toxic nature of such composite hydrogel dressing. Additionally, the in vivo assessment in mice confirmed that the silver-cellulose-gelatin ternary dressing possessed improved wound healing ability. Hence, this study strongly supports the possibility of using this novel silver-gelatin-cellulose ternary dressing for efficient cutaneous wound healing in nursing care of infants.