Nano CaCO mediated in vitro and in vivo wound healing characteristics of chitosan films without added drugs.

The proposed investigation aims towards introducing a facile and cost-effective chitosan-based material for healing of full thickness wounds via stimulation of keratinocyte at wound junction to yield faster closure. Chitosan (CS) crosslinked polyacrylic acid (PAA) polymeric networks are chosen as the matrix element to incorporate gold nanoparticles (Au Nps) and nano calcium carbonate (CaCO Nps) via covalent and electrostatic interactions. The as-synthesized CS/PAA@Au/CaCO nanocomposite hydrogels reveal high in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility against human kidney epithelial (HKE) cells and drosophila larvae, with minimum cell viability of 88.45 % at high doses of 87.5 μg/μL. The innate pH responsive swelling behaviour (1450 %) and WVTR (8.451 mg·cm·h), hemocompatibility, bioadhesivity along with antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity of the nanocomposite hydrogels against S. aureus and E. coli provide prior motivation to escalate the study towards in vivo wound healing in invertebrates (D.melanogaster) and vertebrates (Sprague-Dawley rats). The proposed hydrogels show accelerated healing in invertebrates and vertebrates, i.e., complete recovery in 3 h and 11 days, respectively. The histopathology analysis establishes the deposition of highly aligned collagen fibers on the wound surface supported by the tight keratinocyte junction at wound surface by the action of calcium ions for which the material becomes promising for wound healing applications.