Nano cellulose dispersed chitosan film with Ag NPs/Curcumin: An in vivo study on Albino Rats for wound dressing

With an aim to develop chitosan film with controllable swelling behavior and maximum antimicrobial efficacy, we hereby report cellulose nano crystals loaded chitosan films with Curcumin/Ag nano particles embedded as strong antimicrobial agents. The CNC had average size of 40-90nm with poly dispersity index of 3.641. The TEM analysis of Ag NPs, produced via DMF reduction, revealed a particle size range of 15-25nm. The Surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) of these Ag NPs shifted from 380 to 440nm, with the increase in concentration of Ag (I). The TGA of the film samples Ch/CNC, and Ch/CNC (Ag₄₆₃/Cur₄₅₀) exhibited% weight loss of around 95 and 80 respectively, thus indicating higher stability due to presence of Ag NPs. In XRD analysis 2θ reflections at 38.12, 44.28 and 66.46°^, confirmed the presence planes (1 1), (2 0) and (2 0) respectively. In skin irritation test, the mean Erythema scores observed after 72h was zero for both the Curcumin and Ag NPs/Curcumin loaded films. The percent wound reduction, observed for the film samples Ch/CNC (Cur₄₅₀) and Ch/CNC (Ag NP₄₆₃/Cur₄₅₀) was 57.8 and 97.2 respectively, indicating better suitability of Ag NPs/Curcumin loaded film.