Structural, functional, wettability and antimicrobial properties of PVA/Chitosan/TiO2/ZnO composite scaffolds

Developing multifunctional polymer-based scaffolds with suitable structural characteristics, surface wettability, antimicrobial activity, cytocompatibility, and hemocompatibility remains a major challenge for wound dressing applications. A comprehensive understanding of the correlation between these properties in metal oxides-incorporated polymer scaffolds is still inadequate. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Chitosan scaffolds incorporated with TiO₂, ZnO, and a TiO₂/ZnO combination were fabricated via the freeze-drying method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the phases associated with both the polymer matrix and the incorporated metal oxides, with a decrement of crystallite size. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy identifies the characteristic functional groups and shows interactions between the polymer and metal oxide components. The incorporation of mixed metal oxides (TiO₂/ZnO) results in a more hydrophobic surface, as indicated by higher contact angles than those of the other samples. PVA/Chitosan/ZnO/TiO₂ (PCZT) scaffold demonstrated a reduction in pore size (in the range of 25–75 μm) and effective antimicrobial activity against both Pseudomonas sp. and E. faecium. Further, the cytotoxicity and membrane stabilization studies reveal no significant toxicity and highly hemocompatible behavior in PCZT. These results suggest that the developed scaffolds are promising candidates for advanced bandage materials for biomedical applications.