Fungal chitosan based nanocomposites sponges—An alternative medicine for wound dressing

Abstract The porous structured and cell proliferative biodegradable fungal chitosan (FCS) based composites with potential antibacterial property was prepared with Aloe vera extract (ALE) and the plant Cuscuta reflexa mediated biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (CUS–AgNPS) were developed for wound dressing applications by freeze drying method. Fungal chitosan was derived from Cunninghamella elegans a species belongs the family of Zygomycetes. The CUS–AgNPS were characterized by the UV–vis spectrum, XRD and SEM. CUS–AgNPS were loaded into the FCS-ALE sponges and were characterized by UV–vis spectrum, FT-IR and SEM. The nanocomposite sponges (FCS-ALE/CUS–AgNPS) showed prominent results against the different pathogenic bacteria and did not affect the cells were tested in vitro cell viability against human dermal fibroblast cell (HDF cells) which revealed significant cell viability. Based on these observations our composite formulation (FCS/ALE/CUS–AgNPS) could be suggested potential for wound dressing applications.