Revolutionizing Wound Care: Biocompatible Films for Advanced Wound Healing

Abstract

Traditional wound healing methods struggled with active tissues enduring ongoing motion and biocompatibility. The core objective of this study is to engineer a series of PVA-based wound-healing films containing different additives like acetic acid, Magnesium and Alpha-ketoglutarate. In-vitro tests like swelling, degradation, contact angle, pH sensitivity and moisture content were performed to assess the biodegradability, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity and hygroscopicity of the samples. For in-vivo use, film reactions in the body and excretion time are crucial, whereas hydrophilicity and hygroscopicity would determine the adhesion of the films to the wound and potential inflammatory reactions it may cause. Among the four experimental samples (PVA, PVA/AcOH, PVA/Mg/AcOH and PVA/AcOH/Mg/AKG) it was found that PVA/AcOH exhibited the highest degree of hydrophilicity with the contact angle of 64.5% ± 2% whereas all samples appeared stable in acidic, neutral and basic conditions ruling out the potential for inflammation and/or disintegration in in-vivo environment. PVA/AcOH and PVA/AcOH/Mg showed a stable swelling rate which would maintain the mechanical stability and function inside the body, while PVA/AcOH and PVA/AcOH/Mg/AKG linearly degraded. Lastly, PVA/Mg/AcOH/AKG displayed high hygroscopicity, next to PVA/Mg/AcOH which was second second-highest. Statistically analysis concluded PVA/Mg/AcOH as the best-suited material for fabrication of wound healing suture films.