Physico-mechanical, morphological and biomedical properties of a novel natural wound dressing material

Wound healing as a complex biological process greatly affects the quality of patients׳ lives. The high initial cost of wound treatment using advanced wound dressing is a major concern that warrants more attention. Because of the similarities between body macromolecules and polysaccharides and proteoglycans, gelatin and starch were used extensively as wound dressings; however their solubility in aqueous environment is known as a major drawback. Crosslinking, as a common method for enhancing mechanical properties, has its own limitation as some chemical cross-likers reduce biocompatibility. In this research, a simple and economical method for the fabrication of a novel wound dressing foam based on natural polymers of starch and gelatin with borax as the crosslinking agent is introduced. To evaluate the utility of the foams for wound dressing application, morphology, swelling behaviour and kinetics of swelling, vapour permeability, dimension stability, their mechanical properties and cytotoxicity as well as their ability to control release properties were examined as a function of crosslinking density. It was found that however, all borax-induced-samples show acceptable biocompatibility, incorporation of 30% borax solution optimises their mechanical properties.