Development, physicochemical characterization and in vitro evaluation of chitosan-fish gelatin-glycerol hydrogel membranes for wound treatment applications

Chitosan and fish gelatin, two natural polymers, coupled with glycerol, were used to develop hydrogel membranes. The membrane properties of the prepared membranes, have been improved after heat treatment, leading to materials with ameliorated mechanical performance and lower degradation rate. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) tests were conducted to study the interactions between the biopolymers and the plasticizer. Biopolymers and plasticizer interact via secondary interactions with all plasticized materials being amorphous. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the morphology of the materials and showed that increase in fish gelatin concentration leads to rougher surface morphologies. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measurements and tensile testing, indicated that increase in fish gelatin concentration leads to improved mechanical performance and in particular in terms of maximum strain at break as well as stress at break. Water absorption and degradation rates were found to be fully dependent on fish gelatin concentration as expected. Antimicrobial testing via the measurement of an inhibition zone, as well as ,endothelial cell attachment and proliferation results (in vitro endothelial cell colonization tests) indicate that the hydrogel membranes show promising potential for use in wound healing/care applications (protection against bacteria, providing a moist environment, etc.).