Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility

J. Andrés Ortiz; Francesca Antonella Sepúlveda; Siomara Flores; Marcela Saavedra; Suhelen Sáez-Silva; Thomas Jiménez; Paola Murgas; Scarlett Troncoso; Camila Sanhueza; María T. Ulloa; PORTE TORRE, LORENA ISABEL; Manuel Ahumada; Teresa Corrales; Humberto Palza; Paula A. Zapata

doi:10.3390/polym17162185

Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility

Journal

Polymers

ISSN

2073-4360

Date Issued

2025-08-09

Author(s)

J. Andrés Ortiz

Francesca Antonella Sepúlveda

Siomara Flores

Marcela Saavedra

Suhelen Sáez-Silva

Thomas Jiménez

Paola Murgas

Scarlett Troncoso

Camila Sanhueza

María T. Ulloa

PORTE TORRE, LORENA ISABEL

Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo

Manuel Ahumada

Teresa Corrales

Humberto Palza

Paula A. Zapata

Type

journal-article

DOI

10.3390/polym17162185

URL

https://hdl.handle.net/123456789/11460

Abstract

Chronic wounds pose a great challenge due to their slow healing and susceptibility to infections, hence the need for innovative alternatives to conventional antibiotics, as increasing bacterial resistance limits the efficacy of current treatments. This paper addresses the development of novel electrospun membranes based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate, incorporating therapeutic ZnO and bioglass (54SiO2:40CaO:6P2O5) nanoparticles. While nanocomposites presented smaller fiber diameters than pure polymers, ternary nanocomposites displayed higher values, e.g., in porous areas, values were in the ca. 80–240 nm range and 0.06–0.60 μm2, respectively. The Young’s modulus of the PVA/SA membrane, initially 15.9 ± 2.0 MPa, decreased by 65% with 10 wt.% ZnO NPs, whereas 10 wt.% BG NPs increased it by 100%. The membranes demonstrated efficacy against Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from a human wound secretion, as well as two ATCC strains: Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. A cell viability assay conducted with HaCaT cells demonstrated nearly complete survival following 72 h of membrane exposure. Their combined Gram-positive antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility support their potential application as biofunctional dressings for the management of chronic and hospital-acquired topical infections, while also contributing to the global effort to combat antibiotic resistance.

Cite this document

Ortiz, J. A., Sepúlveda, F. A., Flores, S., Saavedra, M., Sáez-Silva, S., Jiménez, T., Murgas, P., Troncoso, S., Sanhueza, C., Ulloa, M. T., Porte Torre, L., Ahumada, M., Corrales, T., Palza, H., & Zapata, P. A. (2025). Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate nanocomposite dressings loaded with zno and bioglass: Characterization, antibacterial activity, and cytocompatibility. Polymers, 17(16), 2185. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162185