Synthesis and evaluation of nanohydrogel film containing polyvinyl alcohol/hyaluronic acid/zinc oxide for wound dressing

Background and Aim: Lesions of the skin can impair its vital function to protect humans against external pathogens. Therefore, producing a suitable wound dressing to repair injuries is always one of the challenges of researchers. The present study aims to Synthesize a hydrogel film for wound dressing applications. Methods: In this research, a hydrogel film of polyvinyl alcohol / hyaluronic acid / nano zinc oxide was fabricated for application as a wound dressing. For this purpose, three films with different percentages were prepared using the solvent casting method. The synthesized samples were characterized using FTIR, SEM, XRD, and tensile tests.  Results: Evaluation of the morphology of the samples showed that the increase of zinc oxide nanoparticles led to porosity and growth of their size in the films. It was also characterized that the percentage of film elongation increased with increasing nanoparticles of zinc oxide and hyaluronic acid. The elongation percentage from the lowest amount of nano zinc oxide to the maximum (5, 10 and 15% of weight was 159%, 166%, and 230%, respectively. The MTT study indicated the cell viability above 80% in all three films. Conclusion: A film containing 15% zinc oxide can be a suitable option for using in tissue engineering and wound dressing.