Fabrication and characterization of cross-linked polymer hydrogel encapsulated with Nisin for wound dressing applications.

Authors

Aarzoo Sinha, Natalie Kavya, Subikshaa Veluswamy Senthilkumaran, Krithika Senthilkumaran, Nithesh Jerome, Rupachandra Saravankumar

Published in

Journal of biomaterials science. Polymer edition. Pages 1-30. Oct 13, 2026. Epub Oct 13, 2026.

Abstract

Bioactive peptides like Nisin are gaining significant attention for their wound-healing and immunomodulatory properties. Hydrogels, with their high-water content resembling the natural extracellular matrix, provide a moist environment that supports cell migration, proliferation, and autolytic debridement. In this study, we developed a Nisin-encapsulated oxidized sodium alginate-collagen hydrogel through chemical crosslinking for wound-dressing applications. The ratio of polymers and Nisin was optimized based on swelling capacity and porosity, with the 5% formulation exhibiting the best performance. Characterization using SEM and XRD confirmed hydrogel formation by revealing larger pore sizes and reduced diffraction peaks, while MTT assays demonstrated a cell viability of 95.6% at 0.03 mM Nisin. The results further indicated that Nisin encapsulation enhanced the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the hydrogel, supporting its potential as an effective wound-dressing material. In vivo studies using a full-thickness wound rat model showed that the hydrogel promoted wound healing effectively. Acute dermal toxicity assessed using H&E staining revealed no toxicity in skin tissues at a dosage of 200 mg/kg BW. Furthermore, after 14 days of treatment, the residual wound area was 5% in the hydrogel-treated group, whereas the control group retained 30% of the original wound area. The treatment also significantly increased the expression of IL-10 (an anti-inflammatory cytokine) and decreased TNF-α (a pro-inflammatory cytokine) on both day 7 and day 14. These findings collectively highlight the strong potential of hydrogel for advanced wound-care applications.

PMID:
42867115
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Oct 2026.

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