Reinforcement of Polycaprolactone/Chitosan with Nanoclay and Controlled Release of Curcumin for Wound Dressing

A novel clay-reinforced polycaprolactone/chitosan/curcumin (PCl/CS/Clay/Cur) composite film was fabricated in this study. The prepared Cur-loading composite films were characterized with attenuated total reflection Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, water contact angle, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction, and the results showed good dispersion of clay in the composite films. The addition of nanoclay was found to significantly increase the tensile strength. Also, the clay-enhanced drug-loading films exhibited better controlled-release profiles of Cur than those membranes without clay. Skin disinfection test demonstrated that the curcumin-loaded film could protect wound from bacterial infection. Cytotoxicity analysis proved the good biocompatibility of the composite films. The clay-enhanced Cur-loading films might be promising candidates for wound care.