Protein Adsorption Performance of a Novel Functionalized Cellulose-Based Polymer

Formulation and Comprehensive Evaluation of Biohybrid Hydrogel Membranes Containing Doxycycline or Silver Nanoparticles

Complicated wounds often require specialized medical treatments, and hydrogels have emerged as a popular choice for wound dressings in such cases due to their unique properties and the ability to incorporate and release therapeutic agents. Our focus was to develop and characterize a new optimized formula for biohybrid hydrogel membranes, which combine natural and synthetic polymers, bioactive natural compounds, like collagen and hyaluronic acid, and pharmacologically active substances (doxycycline or npAg). Dynamic (oscillatory) rheometry confirmed the strong gel-like properties of the obtained hydrogel membranes. Samples containing low-dose DOXY showed a swelling index of 285.68 ± 6.99%, a degradation rate of 71.6 ± 0.91% at 20 h, and achieved a cumulative drug release of approximately 90% at pH 7.4 and 80% at pH 8.3 within 12 h. The addition of npAg influenced the physical properties of the hydrogel membranes. Furthermore, the samples containing DOXY demonstrated exceptional antimicrobial efficacy against seven selected bacterial strains commonly associated with wound infections and complications. Biocompatibility assessments revealed that the samples exhibited over 80% cell viability. However, the addition of smaller-sized nanoparticles led to decreased cellular viability. The obtained biohybrid hydrogel membranes show favorable properties that render them suitable for application as wound dressings.

Exploring the Impact of Alginate-PVA Ratio and the Addition of Bioactive Substances on the Performance of Hybrid Hydrogel Membranes as Potential Wound Dressings

Healthcare professionals face an ongoing challenge in managing both acute and chronic wounds, given the potential impact on patients' quality of life and the limited availability of expensive treatment options. Hydrogel wound dressings offer a promising solution for effective wound care due to their affordability, ease of use, and ability to incorporate bioactive substances that enhance the wound healing process. Our study aimed to develop and evaluate hybrid hydrogel membranes enriched with bioactive components such as collagen and hyaluronic acid. We utilized both natural and synthetic polymers and employed a scalable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly production process. We conducted extensive testing, including an in vitro assessment of moisture content, moisture uptake, swelling rate, gel fraction, biodegradation, water vapor transmission rate, protein denaturation, and protein adsorption. We evaluated the biocompatibility of the hydrogel membranes through cellular assays and performed instrumental tests using scanning electron microscopy and rheological analysis. Our findings demonstrate that the biohybrid hydrogel membranes exhibit cumulative properties with a favorable swelling ratio, optimal permeation properties, and good biocompatibility, all achieved with minimal concentrations of bioactive agents.

Globular Proteins and Where to Find Them within a Polymer Brush-A Case Study

Protein adsorption by polymerized surfaces is an interdisciplinary topic that has been approached in many ways, leading to a plethora of theoretical, numerical and experimental insight. There is a wide variety of models trying to accurately capture the essence of adsorption and its effect on the conformations of proteins and polymers. However, atomistic simulations are case-specific and computationally demanding. Here, we explore universal aspects of the dynamics of protein adsorption through a coarse-grained (CG) model, that allows us to explore the effects of various design parameters. To this end, we adopt the hydrophobic-polar (HP) model for proteins, place them uniformly at the upper bound of a CG polymer brush whose multibead-spring chains are tethered to a solid implicit wall. We find that the most crucial factor affecting the adsorption efficiency appears to be the polymer grafting density, while the size of the protein and its hydrophobicity ratio come also into play. We discuss the roles of ligands and attractive tethering surfaces to the primary adsorption as well as secondary and ternary adsorption in the presence of attractive (towards the hydrophilic part of the protein) beads along varying spots of the backbone of the polymer chains. The percentage and rate of adsorption, density profiles and the shapes of the proteins, alongside with the respective potential of mean force are recorded to compare the various scenarios during protein adsorption.