Freeze dried chitosan acetate dressings with glycosaminoglycans and traxenamic acid

Francesca Saporito; Giuseppina Sandri; Silvia Rossi; Maria Cristina Bonferoni; Federica Riva; Lorenzo Malavasi; Carla Caramella; Franca Ferrari

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.12.066

Freeze dried chitosan acetate dressings with glycosaminoglycans and traxenamic acid

Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Mar 15:184:408-417. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.12.066. Epub 2017 Dec 28.

Authors

Francesca Saporito¹, Giuseppina Sandri², Silvia Rossi¹, Maria Cristina Bonferoni¹, Federica Riva³, Lorenzo Malavasi⁴, Carla Caramella¹, Franca Ferrari¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
² Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppina.sandri@unipv.it.
³ Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, via Forlanini 2, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Section, University of Pavia, viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.

PMID: 29352936
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.12.066

Abstract

Bleeding control plays an important role to increase survival in the early phase after a traumatic event. The aim of present work was the development of hemostatic sponge-like dressings based on chitosan, in association with glycosaminoglycans (GAG) (chondroitin sulfate or hyaluronic acid) and the improvement of their hemostatic performance by loading tranexamic acid (TA). The dressings were prepared by lyophilizazion and were characterized for mechanical, hydration, bioadhesion properties and morphology. Moreover, FTIR analysis was performed to understand the interactions between the different polyelectrolytes present in the dressings. Clotting was investigated in vitro by using rat whole blood. Moreover, in vitro biocompatibility and proliferation were evaluated towards fibroblasts. Ex vivo proliferation properties were assessed by using human skin. All the dressings were characterised by mechanical, hydration and bioadhesion properties suitable to be applied on bleeding wounds and to absorb bleeding or wound exudate, avoiding tissue dehydration. TA release was fast; TA and chitosan showed a synergic effect to speed up clotting. The dressings were biocompatible and able to sustain cell proliferation in vitro and ex vivo in human skin. In conclusion, sponge-like dressings based on chitosan and GAG and loaded with TA are an effective tool to enhance hemostasis and healing in bleeding wounds.

Keywords: Chitosan; Glycosaminoglycans; Hemostasis; Tranexamic acid; Wound healing.