Papain immobilized on alginate membrane for wound dressing application.

Wound dressings based on natural polymers are of considerable interest in the pharmaceutical industry owing to their improved performance in the human body when compared to synthetic polymers. Alginate, a polysaccharide from brown algae, is commonly studied as a wound dressing owing to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. To improve its therapeutic features and thereby increase wound healing, papain (a proteolytic enzyme from Carica papaya latex) was proposed to be incorporated.