Photocrosslinked methacrylated pectin and methacrylated hyaluronic acid wound dressing loaded with oleuropein as bioactive agent

Oleuropein-loaded photocrosslinked hydrogels, consisting of methacrylated pectin (PEC-MA) and methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HA-MA), were developed as a new hydrogel wound dressing. Pectin and hyaluronic acid were methacrylated and the composite hydrogels were developed by photocrosslinking of the methacrylated polymer precursors. Methacrylation and the photocrosslinking reactions were approved by H-1-NMR and FTIR analyses. In addition to thermal and morphological characterizations, swelling and in vitro degradation studies were performed. More importantly, bioactivity studies, such as cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and hemolysis were performed to reveal the potential of the oleuropein-loaded photocrosslinked hybrid hydrogels for wound dressing applications. In vitro scratch assay studies showed that oleuropein-loaded wound dressing effectively promoted the wound healing compared to the control in 24 hrs. Oleuropein-loaded photocrosslinked hydrogels had no genotoxic and cytotoxic effects on L929 cells and could have a potential for wound healing applications.