Silk Meshes Coated with Chitosan-Bioactive Phytochemicals Activate Wound Healing Genes In Vitro.

Meshes from natural silk are hand knitted and surface functionalized to facilitate hernia repair and other load bearing, tissue applications. Purified organic silk is - hand knitted and then coated with chitosan (CH)/bacterial cellulose (BC) blend polymer using four phytochemicals such as pomegranate (PG) peel, Nigella sativa (NS) seed, Licorice root (LE), and Bearberry leaf extracts (BE) separately. Characterizations using GCMS analysis shows the presence of bioactive chemicals in the extracts. Scanning electron microcopy (SEM) shows that the surface is coated with the composite polymer t. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows significant elements found in CH, BC, and phytochemicals in plant extracts with no chemical changes. Tensile strength of the coated meshes is higher to support tissue as implants. The release kinetics suggest sustained release of phytochemical extracts. In vitro studies confirmed the noncytotoxic, biocompatible, wound healing potential of the meshes. Furthermore, gene expression analysis of 3-wound healing genes shows marked increase in the in vitro cell cultures due to the presence of extracts. These results suggest that the composite meshes can efficiently support hernia closure while facilitating wound/tissue healing and combating bacterial infections. Therefore, these meshes can be good candidates for fistula and cleft palate repair.

Synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles by use of arabinoglucan from Lallemantia royleana.

Highly stable gold and silver nanoparticles were synthesized by use of an arabinoglucan from Lallemantia royleana seeds without additional use of reducing or stabilizing agents. The mechanism involved the reduction potential of the hemicellulose as verified by cyclic voltammetry. The arabinoglucan used was substantially free from ferulic acid and phenolic content, suggesting the inherent reducing potential of arabinoglucan for gold and silver ions. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited surface plasmon resonance maxima at 515 nm (gold) and 397 nm (silver) corresponding to sizes of 10 nm and 8 nm, respectively. The zeta potential values were -24.1 mV (gold) and -22.3 mV (silver). The silver nanoparticles showed potential for application in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Gold nanoparticles were found to be non-toxic, whereas silver nanoparticles exhibited dose-dependent biological activities and found to be cytotoxic against brine shrimps and HeLa cell lines and the tumours caused by A. tumefaciens.