Ultrasmall silver nanoparticles loaded in alginate–hyaluronic acid hybrid hydrogels for treating infected wounds

Nowadays, silver nanoparticles are in the limelight to control infection during wound healing process, and a vast variety of antimicrobial dressings based on colloidal silver have been marketed to fight wound invasion of pathogen bacteria, which represents one of the main adverse effects limiting the repair process. Here we propose a biofunctional hydrogel based on alginate (ALG) and hyaluronic acid (HA) embedding ultrasmall silver nanoparticles (usSN, <1 nm) as antimicrobial component. The hydrogels were fabricated in different size by a straightforward internal gelation method using CaCO₃ and glucono-δ-lactone. To follow usSN release from the hydrogels in aqueous media, catalytic activity of usSN-loaded hydrogels was evaluated. Results suggested that catalytic activity was low in intact hydrogels and high when hydrogels dissolved, which suggests that usSN firmly interact with polymer chains and are available in the medium depending on the extent of hydrogel degradation. HA-containing hydrogels showed faster dissolution in simulated physiological conditions and higher antibiofouling properties as compared to hydrogels made only of ALG. Free usSN were not toxic toward human mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs), previously isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies, up to 50 µg/mL. At this concentration, viability of Ad-MSCs was unaffected whereas their motility was significantly higher as compared to control (p<0.01) for both free usSN and hydrogel integrating. Antimicrobial activity on clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria demonstrated that usSN at 50 µg/mL were able to kill all the bacteria tested after 24 and 48 h of contact time. In the case of hydrogels, a matrix effect was found and bacterial killing was significant only at 24 h and dependent on bacterial strain, being Gram-negative bacteria more susceptible. These results clearly indicate that usSN interaction with polymer network and exposure time can strongly affect usSN antimicrobial profile in the hydrogel and, in turn, timing of hydrogel change at injured site in a clinical setting. On the whole, ALG/HA hydrogels integrating usSN can be considered a suitable option to fabricate biofunctional dressings for hospitalized patients and worth of further in vivo investigation.