Fabrication and characterisation of Extracellular matrix based composite films for wound healing application

Wound healing, occurs naturally upon inflammation following a programmed process such as hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. But at times this sequence is not followed due to lack of sufficient oxygenation, nutrition, stress etc. thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. To suffice this need, implants such as scaffolds are prepared which mimics the extracellular matrix (ECM) thereby providing a proper environment for growth, maintenance and adherence of the cells present in it. In the present work, we propose E¬¬¬¬¬CM derived from porcine omentumto be used as a xenogeneic biomaterial for designing our scaffolds. For this study porcine omentum was decellularised following a series of processes including both physical and chemical method such as repeated freeze thawingand SDS washing of the tissues. Composite films of both Alginate-ECM and Chitosan –ECM in different compositions were prepared by solvent casting method. These films were further characterized by Light Transmission, Swelling, hemocompatibility, moisture absorption and water vapour permeability, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Alginate films without ECM were found to be less thick than the chitosan films without ECM. Upon swelling the films differed in the hydrophilicity as uptake of water by chitosan films were more than alginate films. This accounts to the moisture retention capacity of films Apart from this since ECM is more hydrophilic than alginate and chitosan and addition of higher proportion of ECM in films imparts them more hydrophilicity. Alginate films were found to have more thickness, more hemocompitibility, more crystallinity and higher rate of moister absorption, lesser swelling ratio and more water vapour permeability than chitosan film