Development of zinc, silver, and hyaluronic acid mediated wet spun alginate fibers for potential wound care applications

Sodium alginate and hyaluronic acid are being used extensively in wound care applications for their exceptional properties, including gelation, biocompatibility, exudate absorption, and the ability to provide a moist environment to the wound bed that accelerates healing. This research work presents the potential of developing silver and zinc ions loaded bioactive fibers for wound care applications with improved absorption, swelling (gelling), and antibacterial properties. The effect of loading silver and zinc on alginate/hyaluronic acid biofiber absorption, swelling (gelation), tensile and antibacterial activity were analyzed. It was found that the addition of silver and zinc salts improved the absorption, tensile, and gelation properties of alginate/hyaluronic acid fibers. Zinc-containing fibers exhibited superior properties to silver-containing fibers. The presence of hyaluronic acid influenced the release of silver and zinc ions in various liquid media with a maximum of 26 g/g absorption was observed which suggested the good wound exudate absorption capacity of the developed fibers. The developed fibers showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains.