Design and Biomedical Evaluation of ZnO/Ag/Ag₂O@chitosan Nanocomposite for Infection Control and Tissue Regeneration

In recent years, the multifunctional nanocomposites for biomedical applications have attracted significant interest. A biocompatible matrix of chitosan was selected as a medium for the synthesis of a ZnO/Ag/Ag₂O nanocomposite in this work, which was performed by a solid-state method.The successful synthesis and electronic structure of the ZnO/Ag/Ag₂O@chitosan nanocomposite was confirmed by FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis, and SEM analyses.The XRD data showed that the crystalline ZnO, Ag, and Ag₂O phases were successfully incorporated into the chitosan matrix with sharp peaks indicating the increased crystallinity of the incorporated phases compared to the pristine chitosan. The nanocomposite showed strong antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, which indicates synergistic effects between the two nanoparticles, ZnO and Ag/Ag₂O. Anti-inflammatory assessments showed significant reduction in inflammatory markers and in vivo wound healing experiments showed accelerated tissue regeneration and re-epithelialization. The effectiveness of nanocomposite was also confirmed through histopathological analysis, which demonstrated a decrease in inflammation and enhancement in tissue design in these treated wounds. The multifunctional properties of ZnO/Ag/Ag₂O@chitosan make it a promising material for advanced wound care and other biomedical applications.