In vitro evaluation for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of sodium alginate hydrogel

Identifying appropriate materials for drug delivery and antibacterial to prevent wound infection is an important mission. Hydrogel is widely considered as a promising carrier to encapsulate drug and promote wound healing owing to the good biocompatibility. However, combining drug with antibacterial agent in a synergistic treatment effect still needs further research. Herein, this article reported an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory hydrogel based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) and ibuprofen (IBU) encapsulated in sodium alginate (SA) hydrogels. Formation of hydrogel was dependent on cross-linking SA molecular chain with divalent calcium ion which came from calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The hydrogel displayed ideal antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus under sunlight conditions due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The anti-inflammatory drug IBU in hydrogel displayed the sustained release and the addition of TiO2 cannot affect the drug release behavior. The IBU release mechanism was investigated by drug release kinetics. The addition of TiO2 can improve the mechanical properties of SA hydrogel. The TiO2/SA hydrogel is stable, which can protect the drug activity and maintain the long-term release of drugs. This work developed a potential antibacterial and anti-inflammatory material for medical applications.