Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Development of a Benchtop Model for Evaluating the Compatibility of Wound Dressing Materials with Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Systems
Published on: May 2, 2025
Design of Experiment-Assisted Development of Biodegradable Chitosan/Whey Protein Isolate Films as Advanced
Caterina Valentino1, Barbara Vigani1, Marco Ruggeri1
1Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100Pavia, Italy.
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Chitosan (CS) and whey protein isolate (WPI) are promising biomacromolecules for wound healing; however, a rational understanding of how polymer-protein interactions influence the performance of wound dressings is still lacking. Herein, CS/WPI films were developed and optimized through a Design of Experiment (DoE) approach to investigate the influence of CS molecular weight (MW) and CS:WPI ratio on polymer-protein interactions, quantified by rheological synergism. The optimized formulation (CS:WPI 1:3 with medium-MW CS) demonstrated superior tensile strength (∼2.7 MPa), higher storage modulus (∼1 × 105 MPa in the dry state), and enhanced resistance to degradation (residual mass ∼50% after 7 days). These films showed the most pronounced antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, promoted fibroblast migration and proliferation without cytotoxic effects, and significantly enhanced wound regeneration in a murine model (5% residual wound area after 18 days). These results establish rheological synergism as an important parameter, an index of the extent of polymer-protein interactions, that are responsible of the formulation performance.
