Controlled release of phycocyanin from chitosan/protein isolate hydrogel for effectively accelerating wound healing

The present work deals with the development of novel biopolymer-based composite hydrogels (HGs) based on chitosan and protein isolate derived from marine byproducts, and their functional applications. Chitosan (Cs) from blue crab shells and bluefin tuna protein isolate (BTPI) were selected to prepare composite hydrogels. The data from the characterization demonstrated that by increasing the BTPI content to 20% (w/w, Cs), hydrogels became more porous, elastic, and mechanically stable. Furthermore, all HGs present good antioxidant activity in a BTPI concentration-dependent manner. Based on the overall structural, swelling, and mechanical properties, HG-20 was selected for in-vitro release study of phycocyanin. Release patterns show that HG-20 is able to release phycocyanin (Ph) under acidic and neutral microenvironments. The local application of HG-20 loaded or not by Ph for wound repair in rats' models was further studied. All tested HG exhibited an interesting wound healing-promoting ability. Importantly, Ph-loaded HG-20 has been found to accelerate wound closure, compared to unloaded HG-20.