Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Chitosan (CS) and whey protein isolate (WPI) are promising biomacromolecules for wound healing; however, a rational understanding of how polymer–protein interactions influence the performance of wound dressings is still lacking. Herein, CS/WPI films were developed and optimized through a Design of Experiment (DoE) approach to investigate the influence of CS molecular weight (MW) and CS:WPI ratio on polymer–protein interactions, quantified by rheological synergism. The optimized formulation (CS:WPI 1:3 with medium-MW CS) demonstrated superior tensile strength (∼2.7 MPa), higher storage modulus (∼1 × 10 5 MPa in the dry state), and enhanced resistance to degradation (residual mass ∼50% after 7 days). These films showed the most pronounced antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, promoted fibroblast migration and proliferation without cytotoxic effects, and significantly enhanced wound regeneration in a murine model (5% residual wound area after 18 days). These results establish rheological synergism as an important parameter, an index of the extent of polymer–protein interactions, that are responsible of the formulation performance.
Valentino et al. (Tue,) studied this question.