Bio-Designed Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel Containing Alpha-Tocopherol as a Three-Dimensional...

Chitosan-based hydrogels have highly attractive potential for designing wound dressing production. To promote wound healing, it is admirable to develop three-dimensional (3D) multi-biological functional polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyl chitosan (PVA/CMC) hydrogel. A 3D biocompatible PVA/CMC hydrogel was prepared using a freeze-drying method under both sterile and unsterile conditions, without the use of a chemical cross-linker. The alpha-tocopherol (αT) and glycerol (Gly) loaded into the hydrogel resulted in stability, porosity, and a controlled release profile coordinated with the degradation rate of the hydrogel. The PVA/CMC + αT/Gly hydrogel displayed facilitates cell attachment and cellular migration in vitro evaluations. The prepared hydrogels notably suppressed Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus activities, correlating with loaded αT concentrations (200 and 400 U). In addition, the PVA/CMC + αT (200 U)/Gly10% and PVA/CMC + αT (400 U)/Gly10% hydrogels examined wound healing in full-thickness excisional wounds in rat models. The in vivo results indicated wound closure (αT-200 U: 78.7% and αT-400 U: 90.9% after 14 days), upregulating the gene expression (CYTOKERATIN, COLLAGEN TYPE Ι, and VEGF), and increasing protein levels (Pan-cytokeratin: 34.98% and VEGF: 41.72%). These findings highlight the porous structure of the PVA/CMC + αT (400 U)/Gly10% hydrogel as a promising novel wound dressing candidate with pro-regenerative properties.