Aniline tetramer embedded polyurethane/siloxane membranes and their corresponding nanosilver composites as intelligent wound dressing materials

Abstract

The preparation of functional intelligent wound dressing membranes with features including: excellent dimensional stability in both dry and hydrated states, preserving a moist environment over the wounded area by self-adjustment of their permeability in response to wound moisture level, a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity towards different microorganisms, promising antioxidant (radical scavenging) efficiency and significant activity for stimulation of fibroblast cells growth and proliferation is reported in this work. For the preparation of dressing membranes, NCO-terminated polyurethane prepolymers and a CHO-terminated aniline tetramer are functionalized with silane groups. Polyurethane/siloxane networks are prepared through a sol–gel reaction of these components at different weight ratios. The corresponding nanosilver composites are simply prepared by a redox reaction through impregnating the membranes with a silver salt solution. Based on various in vitro tests, it is revealed that some of the prepared membranes have the basic characteristics of ideal dressings, while they can actively alleviate the healing of tissue in the wounded area.