Amanda Maria Almeida Coco

PhD Student (Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, in Co-tutoring)

Preparation of composite dressings based on polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan foams and bioactive glass particles

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Eduardo H. M. Nunes (UFMG); Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Aldo R. Boccaccini (FAU)

Although bioactive glasses (BGs) have been used mainly in bone tissue engineering, their application in contact with soft tissue has been widely investigated recently, emerging in the past years as promising materials to assist wound healing [1,2]. BGs can promote fibroblast proliferation and migration, which is important for wound repair [3]. BGs applications can be enhanced by the incorporation of therapeutic ions and phytopharmaceuticals into their structure, improving biomedical applications [4]. In this work, submicron-sized BG particles are used in a dressing system based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan (CH) foams. PVA is one of the most used synthetic polymers in drug delivery systems, dressings, and wound management [5]. CH is a widely used dressing biomaterial due to its capacity to assist wound healing and minimal unfavorable response [6]. The as-obtained samples are examined according to their structural and biological properties. The expectation is that the novel composite dressings will be able to accelerate the wound-healing process.

[1] F. Baino et al., J. Non. Cryst. Solids, 2016, vol. 432, pp. 15–30.

[2] V. Miguez-Pacheco, L. L. Hench, and A. R. Boccaccini, Acta Biomater., 2015, vol. 13, pp. 1–15.

[3] S. K. Nethi, S. Das, C. R. Patra, and S. Mukherjee, Biomater. Sci., 2019, vol. 7, no. 7, pp. 2652–2674.

[4] K. Schuhladen, J. A. Roether, and A. R. Boccaccini, Biomaterials, 2019, vol. 217, no. June, p. 119288.

[5] E. A. Kamoun, E. R. S. Kenawy, and X. Chen, 2017, J. Adv. Res., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 217–233.

[6] P. Shivakumar et al., Int. J. Biol. Macromol., 2021, vol. 184, no. June, pp. 701–712.