Applications of molybdenum oxide nanoparticles impregnated collagen scaffolds in wound therapeutics.

Introduction: The highly complex pathophysiology of the wound micro-environment demands the development of a multi-faceted system which would enhance the wound healing cascade. Incorporation of nanotechnology in wound therapeutics has opened up new avenues to tourment the diseased condition. Amongst the various types of nanoparticles molybdenum oxide nanoparticles posses various inherent properties that makes it a versatile material to be used in healing. Incorporation of Molybdenum nanoparticles into collagen scaffolds would provide a synergistic and sequential healing process ensuring the formation of a fully functional tissue.

Materials And Methods: The physico-chemical characterization of the synthesized materials were done using SEM and FT-IR techniques. The bicompatibility and cell proliferation were tested using HaCaT cell lines. Pro-angiogenic ability of the scaffold was tested using CAM assay and Chick aortic arch assay. Finally the in-vivo wound healing ability of the material was tested by creating wound of about 6 cm on the dorsal side of Wistar rats and observed for about 21 days.

Results: The characterization of the scaffold revealed the presence MoO nanoparticles and their structural integrity within the scaffold. The synthesized MoO-collagen nanocomposite was found to be biocompatible and hemocompatible. The in-vitro studies demonstrated that the MoO-collagen scaffold significantly increased the cell adhesion and migration to nearly 2 fold. The MoO embedded collagen sheets synergistically favoured neovascularization and re-epithelization,which would potentially enhance therapeutic efficiency of the scaffold. The nanocomposite also encouraged results in in-vivo analysis, the Wistar rats treated with MoO-collagen scaffolds showed complete healing in about 15 days.

Conclusion: The fabricated MoO-collagen scaffold was found to play an important role in all major events of wound healing such as adhesion, migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. The in-vivo healing assay also proved that the healing rate of animals treated with the samples was comparatively faster. Further research using various trace elements would open up promising avenues in healing therapeutics.