This paper concerns the physicochemical properties of chitosan/phenolic acid thin films irradiated by ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths between 200 and 290 nm (UVC) light. We investigated the preparation and characterization of thin films based on chitosan (CTS) with tannic (TA), caffeic (CA) and ferulic acid (FA) addition as potential food-packaging materials. Such materials were then exposed to the UVC light (254 nm) for 1 and 2 h to perform the sterilization process. Different properties of thin films before and after irradiation were determined by various methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), mechanical properties and by the surface free energy determination. Moreover, the antimicrobial activity of the films and their potential to reduce the risk of contamination was assessed. The results showed that the phenolic acid improving properties of chitosan-based films, short UVC radiation may be used as sterilization method for those films, and also that the addition of ferulic acid obtains effective antimicrobial activity, which have great benefit for food packing applications.

Nanosilver-loaded PMMA bone cement (BC-AgNp) is a novel cement developed as a replacement for conventional cements. Despite favorable properties and antibacterial activity, BC-AgNp still lacks biodegradability and bioactivity. Hence, we...

The development of scaffolds mimicking the extracellular matrix containing bioactive substances has great potential in tissue engineering and wound healing applications. This study investigates melatonin—a methoxyindole present in almost all biological systems. Melatonin is a bioregulator in terms of its potential clinical importance for future therapies of cutaneous diseases. Mammalian skin is not only a prominent melatonin target, but also produces and rapidly metabolizes the multifunctional methoxyindole to biologically active metabolites. In our methodology, chitosan/collagen (CTS/Coll)-contained biomaterials are blended with melatonin at different doses to fabricate biomimetic hybrid scaffolds. We use rat tail tendon- and Salmo salar fish skin-derived collagens to assess biophysical and cellular properties by (i) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy—attenuated total reflectance (FTIR–ATR), (ii) thermogravimetric analysis (TG), (iii) scanning electron microscope (SEM), and (iv) proliferation ratio of cutaneous cells in vitro. Our results indicate that melatonin itself does not negatively affect biophysical properties of melatonin-immobilized hybrid scaffolds, but it induces a pronounced elevation of cell viability within human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK), dermal fibroblasts (NHDF), and reference melanoma cells. These results demonstrate that this indoleamine accelerates re-epithelialization. This delivery is a promising technique for additional explorations in future dermatotherapy and protective skin medicine.

Collagen possesses unique properties, e.g., biocompatibility, biodegradability, and non-toxicity. However, collagen material degrades too quickly and has low mechanical properties. One of the methods of polymers’ modification is mixing them to obtain blends. In this study, the influence of β-glucan for collagen material was analyzed. The interaction between the functional groups of the polymer was analyzed by ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy. The influence of β-glucan on mechanical properties was evaluated. The surface properties of materials were assessed using contact angle measurements and the topography of materials was evaluated by AFM (atomic force microscope). The structure of materials was analyzed according to SEM (scanning electron microscopy) pictures. Moreover, the DPPH-free radicals’ scavenging ability and biocompatibility against erythrocytes and HaCaT cells were evaluated. Collagen and β-glucan were bound together by a hydrogen bond. β-glucan addition increased the roughness of the surface of the film and resulted in a more rigid character of the materials. A small addition of β-glucan to collagen provided a more hydrophilic character. All the materials could swell in in vitro conditions and showed antioxidant activity. Materials do not cause erythrocyte hemolysis. Finely, our cytotoxicity studies indicated that β-glucan can be safely added at small (10% or less) quantity to collagen matrix, they sufficiently support cell growth, and the degradation products of such matrices may actually provide some beneficial effects to the surrounding cells/tissues.

In this study, hydrogels based on chitosan cross-linked by glyoxal have been investigated for potential medical applications. Hydrogels were loaded with tannic acid at different concentrations. The thermal stability and the polyphenol-releasing rate were determined. For a preliminary assessment of the clinical usefulness of the hydrogels, they were examined for blood compatibility and in the culture of human dental pulp cells (hDPC). The results showed that after immersion in a polyphenol solution, chitosan/glyoxal hydrogels remain nonhemolytic for erythrocytes, and we also did not observe the cytotoxic effect of hydrogels immersed in tannic acid (TA) solutions with different concentration. Tannic acid was successfully released from hydrogels, and its addition improved material thermal stability. Thus, the current findings open the possibility to consider such hydrogels in clinics.

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In this work, two-component dialdehyde chitosan/hyaluronic acid scaffolds were developed and characterized. Dialdehyde chitosan was obtained by one-step synthesis with chitosan and sodium periodate. Three-dimensional scaffolds were prepared by the lyophilization method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to observe the chemical structure of scaffolds and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging was done to assess the microstructure of resultant materials. Thermal analysis, mechanical properties measurements, density, porosity and water content measurements were used to characterize physicochemical properties of dialdehyde chitosan/hyaluronic acid 3D materials. Additionally, human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK), dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and human melanoma cells (A375 and G-361) were used to evaluate cell viability in the presence of subjected scaffolds. It was found that scaffolds were characterized by a porous structure with interconnected pores. The scaffold composition has an influence on physicochemical properties, such as mechanical strength, thermal resistance, porosity and water content. There were no significant differences between cell viability proliferation of all scaffolds, and this observation was visible for all subjected cell lines.

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