Development of CMC hydrogels loaded with silver nano-particles for medical applications

► Innovative CMC hydrogels for medical applications were synthesized by two methods. ► The first involved silver nano-particles (AgNPs)-loaded preformed CMC hydrogel. ► The second entailed the in situ preparation of AgNPs during CMC hydrogel preparation. Innovative CMC-based hydrogels with great potentials for usage in medical area were principally synthesized as per two strategies .The first involved reaction of epichlorohydrin in alkaline medium containing silver nitrate to yield silver nano-particles (AgNPs)-loaded CMC hydrogel. While CMC acted as stabilizing for AgNPs, trisodium citrate was added to the reaction medium to assist CMC in establishing reduction of Ag+ to AgNPs. The second strategy entailed preparation of CMC hydrogel which assists the in situ preparation of AgNPs under the same conditions. In both strategies, factors affecting the characterization of AgNPs-loaded CMC hydrogels were studied. Analysis and characterization of the so obtained hydrogels were performed through monitoring swelling behavior, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, UV–vis spectrophotometer and TEM. Antimicrobial activity of the hydrogels was examined and mechanisms involved in their synthesis were reported.