Antibacterial Activity of PEG-Chitosan-ZnO Nanocomposite Wound Dress

This investigation involves the preparation of an antibacterial wound dress based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and chitosan substrate with/without zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-particles. Different concentrations of ZnO nano-particles were dispersed in chitosan-PEG solution and nanocomposite films were prepared by solventcast method. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDXA), Swelling measurement, and antibacterial test using agar diffusion by Escherichia coli. Based on the results ZnO nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in chitosan-PEG substrate. Films with less concentrations of antibacterial agent (ZnO) prevented bacteria growth only in their contact surface and byincreasing the concentration of ZnO, an inhibition zone was observed around the samples. The antibacterial results of chitosan-PEG-ZnO nanocomposite film revealed that it can be potentially applied as an antibacterial wound dress