Garlic Extract-Mediated SPIONs-Incorporated Nanohydrogel for Enhanced Wound Healing Potential

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with a specific size range of 15-70 nm are usually considered nontoxic substances with superior antibacterial activity, making them strong candidates for wound dressing applications. Although SPIONs have significant antibacterial activity, their ability to treat infected wounds still needs to be explored.

The objective of the present study was to synthesize antibacterial SPIONs (G-SPIONs) using aqueous garlic extract as a bioreducing agent and evaluate the synthesized G-SPIONsincorporated nanohydrogel for wound healing potential.

Synthesized G-SPIONs were characterized by SEM, zeta potential, VSM, FTIR, etc. The antibacterial effects of G-SPIONs were evaluated against S. epidermidis, S. aureus, and E. coli, as compared to garlic extract. The synthesized G-SPIONs were further incorporated into the chitosanbased hydrogel (ChiG-SPIONs) to assess their wound healing potential using the in vivo rat model.

The synthesized G-SPIONs had a positive surface charge of +3.82 mV and were spherical, with sizes ranging between 20-80 nm. Additionally, their hemo-biocompatible nature was confirmed by hemolysis assay. The magnetic nature of synthesized G-SPIONs was investigated using a vibrating sample magnetometer, and the saturation magnetization (Ms) was found to be 53.793emu/g. The in vivo wound healing study involving rats revealed a wound contraction rate of around 95% with improved skin regeneration. The histopathological examination demonstrated a faster rate of reepithelialization with regeneration of blood vessels and hair follicles.

The results demonstrated that the developed ChiG-SPIONs could be a novel and efficient nanohydrogel dressing material for the effective management of wound infections.