Chitosan/TiO2 composite membrane improves proliferation and survival of L929 fibroblast cells: Application in wound dressing and skin regeneration.

The microbial infection and growth of fibroblasts are the critical factors for the effective wound healing. The natural polymer-based dressing membranes may mimic extracellular matrix to support the survival, proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts. The present study deals with the preparation of chitosan/titanium dioxide (CS/TiO2) composite membranes with different degree of TiO2 incorporation, and their characterization in terms of morphology, ultrastructure, thermal behavior and mechanical properties with SEM, FTIR, XRD and tensile strength analyses. The data demonstrated the formation of strong O-Ti-O bonding between TiO2 and CS resulting in superior porosity, mechanical strength, crystallinity and flexibility of the composite membranes. Further, the cyto-compatibility, proliferation, oxidative stress, cell cycle and apoptosis analyses of fibroblast L929 cells demonstrated the enhanced proliferation and survival, and decreased oxidative stress and apoptosis in L929 cells grown on CS/TiO2 membrane incorporated with 025% TiO2. Next, we measured the significant up-regulation in the expression of fibroblast-markers in L929 cells cultured on CS/TiO2 (0.25%) membrane. Furthermore, the CS/TiO2 composite membranes exhibited a superior antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Taken together, the data confirmed that CS/TiO2 (0.25%) membrane improved the growth, survival and functional integrity of fibroblasts, and exerted antibacterial activity which may be utilized as potential dressing materials.