Correction: Leone et al. In Situ Crosslinking Bionanocomposite Hydrogels with Potential for Wound Healing Applications. J. Funct. Biomater. 2019, 10, 50

The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns (Figure 3) of HA-ALD and PEC-ALD are amorphous, and the gels formed from these components in the absence of NsZnO are correspondingly amorphous [56]. The XRD patterns of the bionanocomposite hydrogels containing NsZnO have peaks corresponding to NsZnO that are in agreement with our previously reported data [57], with clear evidence of a crystalline hexagonal phase with a wurtzite structure: the five main reflection peaks (100), (002), (101), (102) and (110) are consistent with those of the standard card for the hexagonal phase ZnO (JCPDS ICDD 36e1451). The inclusion of the NsZnO nanoparticles in the gels is clearly evident from the presence of the wurtzitic NsZnO XRD patterns in the bionanocomposite hydrogels. The preservation of the wurtzitic ZnO crystalline structure after the dispersion of the nanoparticles in the gel matrix is significant because of the link between structure and function [41]. Importantly, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the homogeneous dispersion of the NsZnO particles inside the polymeric matrix (Figure A2). This is of interest for the antibacterial activity of these biomaterials, as the reproducibility of the diffusion of Zn²⁺ will be dependent upon the homogeneity of dispersion within the gel matrix.

The pattern of the X-ray diffraction of the samples was obtained by using a PANalytical X’Pert Diffractometer (Cu Kα radiation, Almelo, The Netherlands). Data were collected with a 2D solid-state detector (PIXcel) from 20° to 60° (2θ) with a step size of 0.001° (2θ).