Polyvinyl alcohol /chitosan membranes with copaiba oil emulsion and silver nanoparticles for possible application in...

Research on new materials for wound care plays a key role in advancing biomaterials. The present study focused on the elaboration and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol /chitosan (BP) membranes in a ratio of 0.2/0.8 (m/m), with the addition of copaiba oil emulsion and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), using the casting technique. The nanoparticles were evaluated by UV/Vis spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), while the films were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and swelling, humidity, and contact angle. UV/Vis findings exhibited the characteristic absorption of AgNPs. The films containing 0.5% copaiba oil emulsion exhibited rough surfaces and few droplets. FTIR spectra indicated the presence of caryophyllene in the membranes at 860 cm-1. The samples demonstrated high fluid absorption capacity, with the BP membrane presenting the highest average hydrophilic contact angle (74.53° in PBS). The humidity content of the BP with 0.5 mL of copaiba oil and AgNPs (BP/AgNPs-0.5) membrane was considerable, with an average of 90.24 %. The results indicate that the BP/AgNPs-0.5 films have great potential for wound care applications.