Skin wound healing is time-consuming and frequently accompanied by bacterial infections and the development of scars. The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains has sparked a growing interest in naturally occurring bioactive substances, like curcumin, that possess wound-healing capabilities. Silver is a natural antimicrobial agent, and finds extensive use in specialized wound dressings. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using an eco-friendly approach, employing curcumin. The prepared nanoparticles have been characterized using TEM, DLS, and zeta potential. The prepared AgNPs were loaded on sodium alginate-co-gum arabic hydrogel. Two hydrogel samples (with and without AgNPs) have been applied for wound healing. The developed silver nanoparticles that were created exhibited effective action against both types of bacteria, namely Gram-negative and Gram-positive. Alg-co-AG-AgNPs demonstrated faster wound healing rates compared to using the control hydrogel sample. The novel dressings of curcumin-silver nanoparticle-incorporated sodium alginate-co-gum arabic hydrogels (Alg-co-AG-AgNPs) exhibited exceptional biocompatibility and have the potential to serve as a wound dressing that possesses antibacterial properties and reduces scarring.
Keywords: Arabic gum hydrogel; chronic wounds; curcumin; silver; silver nanoparticles.