Development and In Vitro Characterization of Light Responsive Zinc‐Based Nanoparticles Embedded in Collagen Sheets Intended for Wound Care Oriented Applications

Bacterial infections are one of the most critical issues in hard-to-heal wounds that delay healing. The use of dressings able to both stimulate tissue regeneration and limit bacterial proliferation would reduce post-operative therapies and hospitalization costs. To this, antibacterial wound dressings have been developed. Among antibacterial agents, Zinc and Silver-based nanoparticles (NPs) are the most commonly used for their well-known safety profile. Among biomaterials, collagen is recognized as the gold standard for wound dressing manufacturing because of its unique pro-regenerative properties. With the aim of improving current wound dressings efficacy, a collagen-based device with light-responsive antibacterial properties was developed and in vitro characterized. A fibrillar type I collagen from horse tendon doped with patented Zinc-based NPs was employed for the manufacturing of thin sheets. After the analysis of the chemical-physical properties of collagen-based sheets, the preliminary evaluation of their antibacterial efficacy confirmed their effectiveness and light-responsiveness. The developed innovation would make it possible to in situ control the bacterial population and to reduce healing times and related costs.