Bilayer wound dressing based on sodium alginate incorporated with curcumin-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex/chitosan hydrogel

The aim of this study was to fabricate and characterize curcumin-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex loaded sodium alginate/chitosan (CMx-loaded SA/CS) bilayer hydrogels for use as wound dressing materials. Various concentrations of calcium chloride (CaCl2) including 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20% w/v was directly added to SA layer for crosslinking hydrogels. The morphology, Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) analysis, thermal properties, mechanical properties, moisture absorption, mucoadhesion, water swelling and weight loss, release characteristics, antibacterial activity, and indirect cytotoxicity of the bilayer hydrogels were investigated. The results showed that the SA and CS layers were successfully attached through electrostatic force. Increasing CaCl2 concentration caused the mechanical properties to increase but the moisture absorption, water swelling, and weight loss to decrease. Moreover, the high content of CaCl2 tended to decrease maximum detachment force. For the release study, the hydrogels showed similar release behavior of CM. The CMx-loaded SA/CS bilayer hydrogels exhibited inhibition against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). All CMx-loaded SA/CS bilayer hydrogels were non-toxic to NCTC clone 929 cells and normal human dermal fibroblast cells. Therefore, these bilayers might be a good candidate for use in wound dressing application.