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Polymers
Volume 17
Issue 16
10.3390/polym17162185
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility

by
J. Andrés Ortiz
1,*,
Francesca Antonella Sepúlveda
2,
Siomara Flores
3,
Marcela Saavedra
3,
Suhelen Sáez-Silva
1,
Thomas Jiménez
1,
Paola Murgas
4,
Scarlett Troncoso
5,
Camila Sanhueza
5,
María T. Ulloa
5,
Lorena Porte Torre
6,
Manuel Ahumada
7,8,
Teresa Corrales
9,
Humberto Palza
2,10 and
Paula A. Zapata
3
1
Departamento de Ciencias del Ambiente, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Laboratorio Química de Biomateriales, Santiago 8320096, Chile
2
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Biotecnología y Materiales, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Beaucheff 851, Santiago 8370459, Chile
3
Departamento de Ciencias del Ambiente, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Grupo Polímeros, Santiago 9170020, Chile
4
Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Sebastián, Sede de la Patagonia, Lago Panguipulli 1390, Puerto Montt 5501842, Chile
5
Laboratorio Centro I+D+i Vertebral-COANIQUEM, Santiago 9020070, Chile
6
Laboratorio Clínico, Clínica Alemana, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago 7650568, Chile
7
Escuela de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Mayor, Camino La Pirámide 5750, Huechuraba 8580745, Chile
8
Centro de Nanotecnología Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias, Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Mayor, Camino La Pirámide 5750, Huechuraba 8580745, Chile
9
Grupo de Fotoquímica, Departamento de Química Macromolecular Aplicada, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros, C.S.I.C., Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain
10
IMPACT, Center of Interventional Medicine for Precision and Advanced Cellular Therapy, Santiago 7590000, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2025, 17(16), 2185; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162185 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 16 July 2025 / Revised: 2 August 2025 / Accepted: 7 August 2025 / Published: 9 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Nanofibers: Current Advances and Future Perspective)
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Abstract

Chronic wounds pose a great challenge due to their slow healing and susceptibility to infections, hence the need for innovative alternatives to conventional antibiotics, as increasing bacterial resistance limits the efficacy of current treatments. This paper addresses the development of novel electrospun membranes based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate, incorporating therapeutic ZnO and bioglass (54SiO2:40CaO:6P2O5) nanoparticles. While nanocomposites presented smaller fiber diameters than pure polymers, ternary nanocomposites displayed higher values, e.g., in porous areas, values were in the ca. 80 - 240 nm range and 0.06 - 0.60 mm2, respectively. The Young's modulus of the PVA/SA membrane, initially 15.9 ± 2.0 MPa, decreased by 65% with 10 wt.% ZnO NPs, whereas 10 wt.% BG NPs increased it by 100%. The membranes demonstrated efficacy against Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from a human wound secretion, as well as two ATCC strains: Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. A cell viability assay conducted with HaCaT cells demonstrated nearly complete survival following 72 h of membrane exposure. Their combined Gram-positive antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility support their potential application as biofunctional dressings for the management of chronic and hospital-acquired topical infections, while also contributing to the global effort to combat antibiotic resistance.
Keywords: polyvinyl alcohol; sodium alginate; wound dressing; ZnO; bioglass; cytotoxicity; anti-bacterial activity polyvinyl alcohol; sodium alginate; wound dressing; ZnO; bioglass; cytotoxicity; anti-bacterial activity
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MDPI and ACS Style

Ortiz, J.A.; Sepúlveda, F.A.; Flores, S.; Saavedra, M.; Sáez-Silva, S.; Jiménez, T.; Murgas, P.; Troncoso, S.; Sanhueza, C.; Ulloa, M.T.; et al. Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility. Polymers 2025, 17, 2185. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162185

AMA Style

Ortiz JA, Sepúlveda FA, Flores S, Saavedra M, Sáez-Silva S, Jiménez T, Murgas P, Troncoso S, Sanhueza C, Ulloa MT, et al. Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility. Polymers. 2025; 17(16):2185. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162185

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ortiz, J. Andrés, Francesca Antonella Sepúlveda, Siomara Flores, Marcela Saavedra, Suhelen Sáez-Silva, Thomas Jiménez, Paola Murgas, Scarlett Troncoso, Camila Sanhueza, María T. Ulloa, and et al. 2025. "Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility" Polymers 17, no. 16: 2185. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162185

APA Style

Ortiz, J. A., Sepúlveda, F. A., Flores, S., Saavedra, M., Sáez-Silva, S., Jiménez, T., Murgas, P., Troncoso, S., Sanhueza, C., Ulloa, M. T., Porte Torre, L., Ahumada, M., Corrales, T., Palza, H., & Zapata, P. A. (2025). Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Sodium Alginate Nanocomposite Dressings Loaded with ZnO and Bioglass: Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytocompatibility. Polymers, 17(16), 2185. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162185

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