TiO₂-sodium alginate core-shell nanosystem for higher antimicrobial wound healing application

Wounds that are not properly managed can cause complications. Prompt and proper care is essential, to prevent microbial infection. Growing interest in metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) for innovative wound treatments targeting healing and microbial infections. In this research, sodium alginate-coated titanium dioxide (TiSA) NPs are synthesized through a green co-precipitation method, combining inorganic TiO₂ (Titanium dioxide) and SA (sodium alginate). Analysis via XRD and TEM revealed that the resulting TiSA NPs possessed an anatase phase and polygonal structure, respectively. Biomedical investigations demonstrated that TiSA NPs exhibited enhanced antimicrobial activity compared to the positive control, as well as its counterparts, and showed higher wound healing capabilities compared to TiO₂ NPs. The antimicrobial effectiveness of TiSA NPs relied on various physicochemical factors, including small particle size, an altered band gap, and the presence of oxygen vacancies, resulting in microbial cell death. Moreover, TiSA NPs treatment demonstrated higher wound healing activity (98 ± 1.09 %) compared to its counterparts after 24 h of incubation. Assessment of cytotoxicity on healthy fibroblast cells (L929) revealed that TiSA NPs exhibited lower toxicity compared to TiO₂ NPs. These findings support the potential of TiSA NPs as promising agents for antimicrobial activity and wound healing.