Synthesis of polymeric hydrogels incorporating chlorhexidine gluconate as antibacterial wound dressings

• Main Authors: Apichaya Kapanya, Runglawan Somsunan, Robert Molloy, Supat Jiranusornkul, Worraanong Leewattanapasuk, Leena Jongpaiboonkit, Yen Kong
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; Chemical Engineering; Engineering; Materials Science
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85079457942&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/68268
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Antibacterial hydrogels based on poly(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate) and gelatin and incorporating chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) as a drug were fabricated. The work focused on the effects of varying the CHG concentration. The hydrogel containing 0.02% w/v of CHG was chosen as the drug-loaded hydrogel for comparison with the hydrogel with no drug. From the drug release results, it was found that only 2-5% CHG was released, indicating that the CHG strongly interacted with the hydrogel network. To confirm the antibacterial efficiency of the hydrogels, the shake-flask method and scanning electron microscopy were employed. The antibacterial activity of the drug-loaded hydrogels showed a 7-log reduction for S. aureus gram-positive and a 5-6-log reduction for E. coli gram-negative bacteria. In addition, an MTT assay was performed to evaluate their potential cytotoxicity and showed a percentage cell viability after 24 h of more than 70% which classified them as being non-cytotoxic. In conclusion, the hydrogels containing CHG are considered as one of the interesting candidates for potential biomedical use as antibacterial wound dressings. Further in vivo investigations are planned.