Kappa-Carrageenan/Ciprofloxacin Loaded Hydrogel Patch for Wound Healing Application

Kappa carrageenan/Ciprofloxacin composite films have been developed to protect wounds from bacterial infection. The films were characterized by FTIR, TGA, and SEM analysis. The Water Vapor Transmission Rates (WVTR) for film samples, with different compositions, was in the range of 1025 to 1181 g m-2day-1. The O2 permeability for the samples tested was 16.6 mg/mL against the values of 10 and 28 mg/mL obtained for negative and positive controls respectively. As compared to the standard moisture loss from wounded skin, the relatively low values indicated their suitability for low exudating wounds. The total release of drug Ciprofloxacin from the samples loaded with 0.06, 0.13 and 0.19 g drug/g gel was found to be 29.13, 71.75, 85. 90 mg/g gel in the media of pH 7.4 and the time required for the release was almost 240, 320 and 356 min respectively. The release data were best interpreted by ‘Power Function Model’, as indicated by high regression values of 0.9793,0.9862 and 0.9994 respectively. The release exponent ‘n’ values were 0.55,0.33 and 0.42 respectively, thus suggesting a diffusion-controlled mechanism. The films showed fair antibacterial activity against model bacteria E. Coli. Finally, Kappa carrageenan/Ciprofloxacin composite films, when applied on artificially created wound on skin of rats, showed excellent healing with no inflammation and bacterial infection.