Cutaneous wound healing is a complex process that leads the skin reparation with the formation of scar tissue that typically lacks skin appendages. This fact drives us to find new strategies to improve regenerative healing of the skin. This study outlines, the contribution of colloidal silica particles and oligourethane crosslinking on the collagen material properties and the effect on skin wound healing in rats. We characterized the gel properties that are key for in-situ gelation, which is accomplished by the latent reactivity of oligourethane bearing blocked isocyanate groups to crosslink collagen while entrapping silica particles. The swelling/degradation behavior and the elastic modulus of the composite gel were consistent with the modification of collagen type I with oligourethane and silica. On the other hand, these gels were characterized as scaffold for murine macrophages and human stem cells. The application of a composite gel dressing on cutaneous wounds showed a histological appearance of the recovered skin as intact skin; featured by the epidermis, hair follicles, sebaceous glands, subcutaneous adipose layer, and dermis. The results suggest that the collagen-based composite dressings are promising modulators in skin wound healing to achieve a regenerative skin closure with satisfactory functional and aesthetic scars.

Bioactive compounds (BACs) and chemical building blocks (CBBs) play a pivotal role in driving economic growth. These compounds, known for their diverse applications in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and manufacturing, have become integral to meeting the increasing demand for sustainable and innovative products. In this research, we used and characterized dynamic maceration to extract BACs and CBBs from broccoli leaves (BLs). A central composite design (CCD) was selected to evaluate the effect of temperature (from 4 °C to 70 °C), ethanol concentration (from 30% to 70% (v/v)), and exposition time (15 to 60 min) on total phenolic content (TPC) (mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAEs) per 100 g of dry biomass (db)). A confirmation experiment (CE) was performed to reproduce the optimal conditions (50 °C, 36.92 min, and 30% (v/v)) for BAC extraction. Results indicated a GAE concentration of 112.95 ± 0.92 mg/100 g db, while the statistical model predicted a value of 111.87 mg of GAEs/100 g db (error of 0.95%) with a rate constant (k) value of 0.0154 mg/g·min (R² of 0.9894). BACs and CBBs were identified with gas chromatography–electron impact mass spectrometry detecting l-isoleucine, l-leucine, malonic acid, and succinic acid, among others. Finally, a life cycle inventory (LCI) was developed to determine global warming (GW) and water consumption (WC), among others, for 10 g of BL extract. Findings reported herein prove the sustainability of eco-friendly extraction of BACs and CBBs for the effective use of agricultural by-products.

Biopolymers are widely used for design sustained drug delivery systems (SDDS) and biomaterials for tissue engineering. Reducing wound infections still constitutes one of the major challenges facing the wound care. The aim of this study was to synthetize, characterize and evaluate a single (polymeric spheres) and a binary polymeric biomaterial (polymeric spheres imbedded in a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) scaffold) as a SDDS. Polymeric spheres were prepared by complex coacervation and the binary system of the chitosan (CH) -PVA beads embedded in a PVA scaffold prepared by Ice Segregation Induced Self-Assembly (ISISA) process. Both systems were physicochemically characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In vitro ciprofloxacin (CFX) release kinetics were evaluated simulating physiological conditions under sink conditions. Physicochemical characterization showed interactions between all components forming beads; in contrast, beads-scaffold interactions were not detected making evident the presence of two different phases in the binary system. The CFX release kinetics revealed that both systems were SDDS, simple system release 97.0 ± 6.9% in 7 days, while the binary was 68.56 ± 6.6% during 14 days of evaluation. Binary system emerges as a potential tool for evaluate the long-lasting infection control in the treatment of skin wounds.

The (CTS-g-GMA)-X hydrogels showed higher viability in keratinocytes and nerve cells than the control (glass) and pure chitosan. No diseases were detected in human cells, as protein markers showed no abnormalities.