Functionalization of bioactive moringa gum for designing hydrogel wound dressings

In view of wound healing properties of moringa gum (MG) and the antibacterial activity of poly(METAC), in the present work, the antibiotic drug ofloxacin encapsulated MG-cl-poly(METAC) based hydrogel dressings were prepared by graft copolymerization reaction for better wound care. Network copolymeric structure was assessed by FESEM, AFM, EDX, 13C NMR, XRD, FTIR and DSC techniques. Swelling properties demonstrated that the network density of hydrogel dressings could be tailored as per the need of wound fluid sorption by controlling feed monomer and crosslinker content during synthesis. FESEM, AFM and XRD revealed a heterogeneous morphology of hydrogels with a rough surface and an amorphous patterns of polymeric materials. Diffusion of ofloxacin from dressing occurred by a non-Fickian diffusion mechanism in simulated wound fluid and was fitted best in First-order kinetic model. Wound dressings exhibited non-haemolytic (0.97% haemolytic potential), mucoadhesive (109.00 ± 4.00 mN peak detachment force) and antioxidant (92.94 ± 2.13% scavenging in DPPH assay) characteristics along with mechanical strength against external stress and strain. Hydrogel dressings were found to be permeable to H2O/O2 and impermeable to microbes. The synergic action of the drug and matrix with antibacterial activity can improve the wound-healing potential of the dressings. These physiological and biomedical properties pointed out the ideal character of moringa gum dressings for better wound healing.