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. 2020 Jul 3;35(5):e202000507.
doi: 10.1590/s0102-865020200050000007.

Evaluation of wound healing effect of alginate film containing Aloe vera gel and cross-linked with zinc chloride

Adriana Yuriko Koga  1 , Julio César Felix  2 , Rodrigo Gomes Marques Silvestre  3 , Leandro Cavalcante Lipinski  4 , Bruna Carletto  5 , Fernanda Alexia Kawahara  6 , Airton Vicente Pereira  7
Affiliations

Evaluation of wound healing effect of alginate film containing Aloe vera gel and cross-linked with zinc chloride

Adriana Yuriko Koga et al. Acta Cir Bras. .

Abstract

Purpose: To develop a new wound dressing composed of alginate and Aloe vera gel and cross-linked with zinc ions.

Methods: The aloe-alginate film was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), swelling profile, mechanical properties, polysaccharide content and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thirty Wistar rats were divided in two groups a) treated with aloe-alginate film and b) control (treated with sterile gauze). Wound contraction measurements and hystological analysis were performed on 7th, 14th and 21st days after wound surgery.

Results: The aloe-alginate film presented adequated mechanical resistance and malleability for application as wound dressing. There was no statistical difference in wound contraction between two groups. Histological assay demonstrated that aloe-alginate film presented anti-inflammatory activity, stimulated angiogenesis on proliferative phase and a more significant increased in collagen type I fibers and decreased type III fibers which promoted a mature scar formation when compared to control.

Conclusions: The aloe-alginate film showed adequate physicochemical characteristics for wound dressing applications. The in vivo assay demonstrated that aloe-alginate film enhanced the healing process of incisional skin wounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Surface images obtained using SEM micrographs of cross-linked (a) and non-cross-linked (b) aloe-alginate films.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Tensile strength and elongation break of cross-linked (a) and non-cross-linked aloe-alginate (b) films.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Swelling profiles of cross-linked (a) and non-cross-linked (b) aloe-alginate films.
Figure 4
Figure 4. X-ray diffractograms of the aloe-alginate films: cross-linked with ZnCl2 (a) and non-cross- linked (b).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Scared area of skin treated with aloe-alginate film (group A) and sterile gauze (group B) after wounding (0) and days 7, 14 and 21 pos-surgery.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Photomicrograph of the tissue wounds stained with hematoxylin-eosin treated with aloe-alginate film (A) and control (B) on 7th, 14th, and 21st days. The presence of inflammatory infiltrate was observed in all groups (à) and new blood vessels were presented on 7th, 14th and 21st days (BV).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Inflammatory infiltrate in wounds treated with aloe-alginate film and control on 7th, 14th and 21st days. *p≤0.05.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Presence of blood vessels on groups treated with aloe-alginate film and control on 7th, 14th and 21st days. *p≤0.05.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Photomicrograph of type I and type III collagen fiber stained with picrosirius red on groups treated with aloe-alginate film (A) on 14th day and 21st day and control (B) on 14th and 21st day. The differentiation of the fibers was done using a binary image on Image J software.
Figure 10
Figure 10. Quantity in pixels of collagen type I and III in the groups treated with aloe-alginate film (A) and control (B) on 14th and 21st days.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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