Hidrogéis compreendem uma importante classe de materiais poliméricos adequados à aplicação como curativos de feridas e queimaduras. A estrutura tridimensional hidrofílica dos hidrogéis permite que estes mantenham a umidade ideal no leito das feridas, absorvam o exsudato e não causem danos ao novo tecido durante as trocas dos curativos. No caso dos hidrogéis, essas trocas podem ser menos frequentes. Além disso, curativos que auxiliem na remoção de tecidos necrosados e ainda sejam capazes de oferecer tratamentos extras que acelerem o processo de cicatrização são desejáveis. Este trabalho apresenta a produção de materiais à base de hidrogel capazes de auxiliar neste processo de diferentes maneiras. Primeiramente, são apresentados hidrogéis formados a partir de nanofibras de poli(N-vinil-2-pirrolidona) (PVP) produzidas por eletrofiação, seguido da reticulação através da utilização de radiação UV-C ou reação de Fenton. A utilização da eletrofiação como técnica auxiliar na formação dos hidrogéis permitiu o controle da porosidade através da formação de fibras de diferentes diâmetros. A evidência de tal propriedade foi constatada através da produção de materiais que apresentam diferentes perfis de liberação da proteína modelo albumina de soro bovino (BSA). O hidrogel de PVP nanoestruturado foi capaz de liberar e manter a atividade da colagenase, uma importante enzima aplicada no tratamento de feridas via desbridamento enzimático, durante as 48 horas em que foi avaliado. Além disso, hidrogéis bactericidas nanoestruturados foram produzidos a partir de nanocompósitos de PVP e nanopartículas de prata (AgNP) produzidos por eletrofiação. Esses hidrogéis apresentaram propriedades térmicas semelhantes aos hidrogéis sem AgNP, diminuindo, contudo, a sua capacidade de intumescimento. Esses hidrogéis mostraram-se ativos contra bactérias gram-positivas e gram-negativas a partir de 100 ppm de AgNPs. Adicionalmente, foi estudada a formação de um hidrogel modelo composto PVP/AgNP/Imidazol, almejando-se a produção de um material bactericida-fungicida a base de hidrogel. Este hidrogel apresentou atividade conta três espécies de Candida a partir de 500 ppm de imidazol no material. Embora exista a formação de um complexo estável entre AgNP e Imidazol, cálculos teóricos e a constatação da atividade fungicida corroboram com o fato de que derivados imidazólicos podem ser liberados a partir deste hidrogel híbrido. A produção de hidrogéis físicos compostos por blendas de PVP/Polianidridos sintetizados a partir de derivados de hidroxicinamatos e ácido salicílico, capazes de liberar moléculas de interesse biológico quando parcialmente degradados hidroliticamente, também é descrita neste trabalho. Os resultados indicam que interações hidrofóbicas entre a PVP e os polianidridos sintetizados podem ser responsáveis pela formação dos hidrogéis físicos e pela miscibilidade das blendas produzidas. Os hidrogéis físicos de PVP/Polianidridos foram obtidos na forma de filmes por evaporação do solvente. Micro- e nanofibras também foram obtidas por eletrofiação. Desta maneira, o presente trabalho contribui com o desenvolvimento de uma geração de curativos multifuncionais aplicados no tratamento de feridas crônicas e queimaduras. / Hydrogels comprise an important class of polymeric materials that finds application as wound and burn dressings. The hydrophilic three-dimensional structure of hydrogels helps to provide the ideal humidity at the wound bed, to remove exsudates and to prevent damages to the new tissue during dressing substitution. Furthermore, these wound dressings are able to remove necrotic tissues and, therefore, capable to offer extra treatments that would benefit the healing processes. This work describes the production of hydrogel based materials that are able to act in wound healing by different ways. First, it is presented hydrogels composed of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) nanofibers produced by electrospinning, followed by its crosslinking using UV-C radiation or Fenton reaction. The use of electrospinning in the hydrogel formation allowed porosity control by obtaining fibers of different diameters. This was evidenced by achieving materials that present different release profiles of the model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA). The nanostructured PVP hydrogel was capable of releasing and maintaining collagenase activity during 48 hour of evaluation. This is an important enzyme that find application in wound healing based on enzymatic debridement. Moreover, nanostructured bactericidal hydrogels were produced from PVP and silver nanoparticles (AgNP) composite through electrospinning, resulting in hydrogels with thermal properties similar to those hydrogels without AgNP, decreasing its swelling ability. These hydrogels were active against gram-positives and gram-negatives bacteria starting from 100 ppm of AgNP. In addition, the production of a model hydrogel composed by PVP/AgNP/Imidazole was investigated, aiming at a bactericidal-fungicidal hydrogel based material. This hydrogel was active against three Candida having 500 ppm of imidazole into the structure. In spite of the formation of a stable complex between AgNP and imidazole, theoretic calculations and the observed fungicidal activity corroborate with the fact that imidazoles derivatives can be released from this hybrid hydrogel. Physical hydrogels composed of PVP/Polyanhydrides blends were synthesized from hydroxycinammates derivatives and salicylic acid. These materials which were capable of releasing molecules with biological potential upon hydrolysis, are also described in this work. The results indicate that hydrophobic interactions between PVP and the synthesized polyanhydrides could be responsible for the hydrogel formation and blend miscibility as well. PVP/Polyanhydride physical hydrogels were obtained from cast films. Micro- and nanofibers were also obtained by electrospinning. Thus, the present work contributes with the development of the new generation of smart dressings for wound and burn healing.

The diploma thesis is focused on the study of fibrous wound dressings prepared by electrospinning method from natural biopolymers. Three active ingredients were added to the dressings: ampicillin, ibuprofen and collagenase, which are responsible for relieving pain, reducing the risk of infection and selectively removing necrotic tissue in the wound. The theoretical part describes the therapeutic dressings currently available on the market and the most common methods of nanofiber production. The experimental part evaluates the optimization of the preparation of gelatin, alginate and chitosan fibrous wound dressings, which were subsequently enriched with active substances and their gradual release into the model environment was determined spectrophotometrically. Antimicrobial effects against E.coli and S. epidermidis strains andantifungal activity against C. glabrata yeast were monitored. Finally, two cytotoxicity tests on the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT confirmed the safety of the prepared products, which can serve as bioactive skin dressings in the future.

The presented diploma thesis deals with the optimalisation of preparation and the preparation of combined nanostructured antimicrobial biomaterials itself. In the theoretical part, a review focused on used materials and consequently preparation of nanoparticles and nanofibers was elaborated. Furthermore, the used antimicrobial substances – curcumin and ampicillin, and the principle of cytotoxicity assay were described.In practical part the optimalisation process is described. Furthermore the safety of prepared materials and used antimicrobial substances on HaCaT cell line was tested, in order to confirm their possible further use in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. Great part of the thesis deals with evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of used substances and prepared combined nanomaterials on multiple microorganisms from grampositive bacteria, gramnegative bacteria and yeasts. Also the release speed of antimicrobial substances from prepared nanomaterials was determined by spectrophotometer. The amount of released ampicillin from prepared nanomaterials was determined by liquid chromatography.

Ce travail concerne le développement de nouvelles méthodes de filage du chitosane ainsi que l’étude des propriétés morphologiques, mécaniques et biologiques des fibres obtenues, en vue de leur utilisation sous forme de fils et textiles dans des applications biomédicales (en particulier, la constitution de prothèses pariétales pour la chirurgie viscérale et de pansements pour le traitement des plaies chroniques). Les monofilaments sont élaborés à partir de solutions hydroalcooliques de chitosane. Les deux procédés décrits sont basés sur la gélification physique du polymère sans utiliser d’agent réticulant externe. L’étude systématique des paramètres physico-chimiques mis en jeu au cours de la formation des fibres a permis de déterminer les paramètres clés permettant le contrôle de la morphologie cristalline des fibres, notamment les fractions cristalline anhydre et hydratée. Les propriétés mécaniques des fibres de chitosane sont stables au moins jusqu'à 6 mois de stockage à l'ambiante, et ont pu être optimisées en jouant à la fois sur des paramètres « procédé » (étirages du filament aux différentes étapes du procédé d’élaboration) et sur des paramètres physicochimiques (concentration en chitosane dans le collodion, masse moléculaire du polymère et composition du solvant hydroalcoolique). L’observation de la morphologie des fibres à différentes échelles par diffusion/diffraction des rayons X et microscopie électronique en relation avec les propriétés mécaniques a permis d’appréhender l'évolution microstructurale au cours de l'étirage, notamment le mécanisme de formation de fibrilles d'une part, et les échelles clés pour l'interprétation du comportement à rupture des fibres (morphologie en agrégats de 100-300 nm). Enfin, une implantation en souscutané chez le rat de fibres de chitosane possédant différentes morphologies cristallines (anhydre et hydratée) a validé le potentiel de ces fibres pour leurs applications biologiques avec une excellente tolérance des biomatériaux implantés (réponses inflammatoire et tissulaire très limitées) et une faible biodégradabilité après 90 jours d'implantation / This work deals with the development of new chitosan fiber spinning processes and the study of morphological, mechanical and biological properties of obtained fibers, in the perspective of their use as yarns or textiles in biomedical applications (in particular, the design of abdominal reinforcement meshes for visceral surgery and wound dressings for the treatment of chronic wounds). The monofilaments were elaborated from hydroalcoholic chitosan solutions. The two processes that we described are based on the physical gelation of the polymer without using any external crosslinking agent. The systematic study of physico-chemical parameters occurring during the fiber formation allowed to determine the key parameters controlling the crystalline morphology of fibers, especially the anhydrous and hydrated crystalline fractions. The mechanical properties of chitosan fibers are stable at least up to 6 months of storage at ambient atmosphere, and were optimized by acting on processing parameters (filament stretching at different steps of its elaboration) and physico-chemical parameters (chitosan concentration in the dope, molecular weight of the polymer and composition of the hydroalcoholic solvent). The observation of the fiber morphology at different length scales by X-ray diffusion/diffraction and electronic microscopy in relation to their mechanical properties allowed us to comprehend the microstructural evolution during fiber stretching, including the mechanism of fibril formation and the key length scales to understand the behaviour at break of fibers (100-300 nm aggregate morphology). Finally, a subcutaneous implantation of chitosan fibers with different crystalline morphologies (anhydrous and hydrated) validated the potential of these fibers in their biological applications with an excellent tolerance of implanted biomaterials (very low inflammatory and tissue reactions) and a low biodegradability after 90 days of implantation

Le biofilm bactérien constitue un obstacle majeur à la cicatrisation des plaies. Par ailleurs, il est responsable de l’émergence d’une résistance et d’une tolérance accrues aux antibiotiques. Par conséquent, le développement de systèmes de délivrance contrôlée d’un agent ciblant la structure du biofilm apparaît comme une approche thérapeutique alternative indispensable et urgente pour la prise en charge des plaies chroniques. A travers cette étude, nous avons développé des systèmes membranaires pour pansements libérant une protéine, la dispersine B (DB),capable de cibler de manière sélective la matrice du biofilm, en créant un microenvironnement délétère pour le biofilm bactérien. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes intéressés aux membranes asymétriques (MAs) à base de polyesters biodégradables tels que le poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate), le poly (butylène succinate-co-butylène adipate) (PBSA), et l’acide polylactique. En incorporant dans la solution de polymère des agents porogènes hydrophiles (APs), nous avons pu obtenir des MAs à porosité élevée, un réseau poreux interconnecté, perméables au dioxygène et à l’eau vapeur. En utilisant l’albumine de sérum bovin, nous avons pu montrer que la capacité de piégeage de la protéine et sa libération contrôlée à partir des MAs de PBSA était influencée par la structure de celles-ci et la présence d’APs résiduels. Les études in vitro ont montré une très grande efficacité anti-biofilm à la fois en inhibition et en dispersion (jusqu’à 80%). Les tests standards normalisés de cytotoxicité in vitro ont montré que les MAs de PBSA non chargées et chargées en DB répondaient aux critères de cytocompatibilité exigées pour une application de type pansement. / Bacterial biofilms are a major obstacle to the wound healing process. In addition, they are responsible for the emergence of resistance and tolerance to antibiotics. Hence, the development of controlled drug delivery systems targeting the bacterial biofilm appears as an urgent and essential alternative therapeutic approach for the effective management of chronic wound. In this work, we developed wound dressings in which a protein, dispersin B (DB), is released capable of selectively targeting the biofilm matrix, creating a deleterious microenvironment for the bacterial biofilm. To this end, we were interested in asymmetric membranes (AMs) from biodegradable polyesters such as the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate), the poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) and the polylactic acid. By the incorporation of hydrophilic porogen agents (PA), we were able to obtain AMs with a high level of porosity, exhibiting a porous interconnected network and oxygen and water vapor permeability. Using bovine serum albumin as a model protein, we demonstrated that protein loading and release from the PBSA AMs were affected by the membrane structure and the presence of residual PA. In vitro studies showed highest antibiofilm efficiency both in inhibition and dispersion (up to 80%). Normalized in vitro cytotoxicity standard assays revealed that unloaded and DB-loaded PBSA membranes met cytocompatibility criteria required for wound dressing applications.

No description available.