Novel pH-responsive pectin-based hybrid smart hydrogels for in vitro drug release and in vivo wound healing applications

Abstract

Despite their exceptional biocompatibility and non-toxicity, pectin-based hydrogels suffer from poor mechanical strength, water sensitivity and high instability, which limit their utilization in the biomedical sector. Therefore, main objective behind this study was to develop integrated pectin-based hydrogel system to improve mechanical and structural properties of hydrogels for biomedical applications. Multifunctional hydrogels were formulated to integrate the gel-forming capabilities and biocompatibility of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and pectin, with the crosslinking and structural reinforcement of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), and the antimicrobial and drug-loading capabilities of graphene oxide (GO) fillers. Using varied GO concentrations, pectin/PVA/APTES/GO hydrogel series PPG (−2.5, −5, −7.5, and −10) was synthesized, and samples' structural integrity, amorphous nature, porous morphology, and thermal stability were characterized. The hydrogels demonstrated high cell viability, biodegradation, and antibacterial activity, and their swelling in distilled water (DW) reached a maximum value of 3300% in 120 min. The greatest degree of swelling was observed at pH 8 in both buffered and non-buffered solutions. Following the Higuchi, zero-order, and Korsmeyer-Peppas models for controlled release kinetics, 91.44% of levofloxacin (LVX) was released from the drug-loaded hydrogel (DPPG) within 3.5 hours in a PBS (pH 7.4) solution. Furthermore, in vivo wound healing studies demonstrated excellent results, especially for the drug-loaded hydrogel DPPG, where the healing rate was 100% on day 7. The outstanding characteristics of the fabricated pectin-based hydrogels enhance their potential for antimicrobial wound dressing and controlled drug delivery applications.