Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/carboxymethyl starch/zinc oxide porous nanocomposite films for wound dressing application

Because of low moisture uptake, water vapor transmission rate, oxygen transmission rate, swelling capacity and no antibacterial activity of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) film, carboxymethyl starch (CMS) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were incorporated in order to improve its limitations for wound dressing application. The infrared shifted peak of OH stretching and OH bending in HPMC/CMS blended films was detected due to hydrogen bond formation between HPMC and CMS. Scanning electron images of HPMC/CMS blended films exhibited porous structure. In addition, swelling degree, moisture uptake, water vapor transmission rate and oxygen transmission rate of HPMC/CMS blended films with various contents of CMS clearly increased compared to HPMC film. Moreover, HPMC/CMS nanocomposite films loaded with ZnO-NPs showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, revealing their potential for wound dressing application. Percentage of crystallinity, cytotoxicity, mechanical and thermal properties were also examined.