Chemically engineered nanoceria-vancomycin enriched multifaceted hydrogel for combatting deep wounds: Insights from preclinical research

The elevation of bacterial infection and generation of excessive radicals are critical challenges to address in deep wounds because they slow down the repair process by jeopardizing cellular activity and increasing the risk of complications. Therefore, we synthesized a multifaceted chitosan/polyacrylamide hydrogel enriched with nanoceria and vancomycin to provide an effective solution for combatting deep wounds. Hydrogels with different concentrations of nanoceria were prepared and characterized for functional group determination, rheological behavior, morphology, hydrophilic nature, adhesiveness, and stretchability properties. The release study results indicated a sustained release of vancomycin from all the nanocomposite hydrogels, and the release mechanism followed the Higuchi model. An antioxidant assay demonstrated the effectiveness of nanocomposite hydrogels in inactivating the experimentally generated free radicals. Hemocompatibility assay showed <5 % hemolysis by nanocomposite hydrogels, indicating good compatibility with blood. Among all, hydrogel loaded with 500 μg/mL nanoceria (CPN-5 V) exhibited the highest cell proliferation of human dermal fibroblast-neonatal cells and bacterial inhibition of 17.06 mm and 11.05 mm against S. aureus and E. coli. In a deep wound model, CPN-5 V nanocomposite hydrogel demonstrated 99.63 % wound closure at day 12 with 16.09 μg/mg of hydroxyproline content and epithelization with compact and well-organized fibrous tissue deposition. In conclusion, the synthesized multifaceted CPN-5 V nanocomposite hydrogel is a potential candidate for effectively managing deep wounds.