Chitosan composite material has been used as an efficient drug carrier for potential drug delivery systems in specific cases of wound dressing management. In the present study, 0.5 g/L of the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) was loaded into 1% fungal chitosan (FCS) incorporated with 0.2% of Aloe vera extract (AVE). Two types of sponges were prepared, with and without AVE, such as FCS-AVE-TCH and FCS-TCH, respectively. They were characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometer, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A constant amount of cumulative TCH release was observed from FCS-AVE-TCH composite sponges at the phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.4), they exhibited good antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, the Vero cells (African green monkey kidney cell line) treated by the composites showed augmented cell viability, which suggests that it could be used as a cost-effective, potential wound dressing material.
Keywords: Aloe vera extract; Fungal chitosan; Tetracycline hydrochloride; Wound dressing.