Development of a new production method of foam-like wound dressings for skin regeneration

Chitosan is widely used to prepare films, hydro-gels, cryogels, sponges, fibers and other various biomaterials used in the tissue engineering field. It is one of the best processable polysaccharides used in biomedicine. However, its stability is generally lower as compared with others, due to its pH sensitivity and hydrophilic character. Using chitosan in combination with agarose may not only improve chemical and mechanical properties of the resultant material (by the formation of a biocomposite), but also lead to the formation of a gel imitating physical attributes of the extracellular matrix. Moreover, the combination of these two polysaccharides has a promising ability to improve the stability of chitosan and to increase fibroblasts’ affinity to agarose. Characteristic advan-tageous features of these natural polymers raise a wide interest in tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to develop and optimize a new method to produce a highly biocompatible foam-like chitosan/agarose wound dressing for skin healing applications. The production process optimization helped to obtain the absorbent foam-like biomaterial which is non-toxic to skin fibroblasts and does not conduce their adhesion. Employing sodium bicarbonate as the main agent in the foaming reaction not only led to obtaining the foam-like structure but also neutralized the acidic pH, making the material non-toxic and non-irritating to the skin. In conclusion, the new foam-like biomaterial has great potential for biomedical applications as the wound dressing accelerating the healing process of the damaged tissues.