Biologically-synthesised ZnO/CuO/Ag nanocomposite using propolis extract and coated on the gauze for wound healing applications

Abstract

Wound healing has long been recognised as a major clinical challenge for which stablishing more effective wound therapies is necessary. The generation of metallic nanocomposites using biological compounds is emerging as a new promising strategy for this purpose. In this study, four metallic nanoparticles (NPs) with propolis extract (Ext) and one without propolis including ZnO/Ext, ZnO/Ag/Ext, ZnO/CuO/Ext, ZnO/Ag/CuO/Ext and ZnO/W were prepared by microwave method and assessed for their wound healing activity on excision experimental model of wounds in rats. The developed nanocomposites have been characterised by physico-chemical methods such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer-Emmett- Teller analyses. The wounded animals treated with the NPs/Ext in five groups for 18 days. Every 6 days, for measuring wound closure rate, three samples of each group were examined for histopathological analysis. The prepared tissue sections were investigated by haematoxylin and Eosin stainings for the formation of epidermis, dermis and muscular and Masson's trichrome staining for the formation of collagen fibres. These findings toughly support the probability of using this new ZnO/Ag/Ext materials dressing for a wound care performance with significant effect compared to other NPs.