Green and Facile Preparation of Chitosan Sponges as Potential Wound Dressings

The aim of this study was to prepare nonleaching chitosan based wound dressings via chemical modification. A green and facile method was applied to fabricate ampicillin grafted chitosan (CSAP) sponges. The morphology, porosity, and swelling behavior of CSAP sponges were analyzed. Specifically, the antibacterial activity of CSAP sponges toward Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli was assessed using a series of assays, including bacterial growth curve, nucleic acids leakage, and live/dead staining. As expected, CSAP sponges exhibit excellent antibacterial activity without any leaching. The cytotoxicity assay was carried out on HEK293 cells in vitro, and the result prove the good biocompatibility of the developed sponges. Moreover, the wound healing ability was evaluated using a wound model in vivo, and the result shows that the sponge could speed up wound healing efficiently. Thus, the chemically modified chitosan sponges exhibit great potential as promising wound dressings.