Dados do Trabalho

Título/Title/Titulo

Production and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Chitosan/Buriti Oil New Biocomposite with Potential in Wound Healing

Introdução/Introduction/Introdución

The skin is a precisely organized extracellular matrix. By being in contact with the environment, it’s exposed to external factors capable of damaging its structure and functions. Wounds have a high impact both individually and economically, which makes this problem of enormous relevance to the health area and the scientific community. The wound healing is a biological process where cellular matrix and components act in combination to repair damage and replace lost tissue. Biopolymers has shown to provide desirable properties, such as biodegradability and low or non-toxicity for application in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. A structural polysaccharide named chitin (β-(1-4)-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) is the second most abundant biopolymer and has the highest biodegradability present in nature. Chitin can be subjected in a process called deacetylation to obtain chitosan, the most important derivative of chitin and the only positive charged biopolymer in nature. Chemically, chitosan is defined when the degree of deacetylation is more than 50%, predominating the amino groups. Besides being biodegradable and absent of toxicity and bioactive, chitosan has antioxidant activity, antimicrobial and antifungal activity, due to its exclusive cationic character. In the process of obtaining chitosan nanoparticles (NCCH), the crystalline area is reduced and some characteristics are potentialized, such as reactivity, hemostatic and mucoahdesive properties. The complexation of nanocrystalline chitosan and essential oils provide an exclusive biocomposite with notable potential for regenerative medicine. Buriti oil is an essential amazonian oil with high concentration of fatty acids, poly-phenols, ascorbic acid, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, besides being rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C and E.

Objetivos - Metodologia - Resultados - Discussão dos Resultados/Objectives - Methodology - Results - Discussion of Results/Objetivos - Metodología - Resultados - Discusión de los resultados

The objective of this work is to create a biocomposite of nanocrystalline chitosan and Buriti oil, to obtain a unique biomaterial with all the characteristics and properties required for tissue engineering. First, was dissolved chitosan powder (1% polymer content) initially homogenized with deionized water and slow addition of acetic acid solution 0,4%, in constant stirring. Then, the dissolution with 1L and pH 4.6 was purified. The complexation occurred with gradual addition of NaOH 4% solution with stirring. In pH 5.0 was added the Buriti oil on the same polymer rate and the NaOH solution was proceeded until pH 7.4. Was prepared 10 samples (25mL) in Petri dishes. In Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) confirmed both structure of NCCH and Buriti oil. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis of the NCCH/B complex showed a homogeneous distribution of oil in the polymer matrix. Particle Size and Zeta Potential showed a minimal increase of the particle size on NCCH/B comparing to the standard NCCH. A swelling aspect was noted on the complex that suggests the oil encapsulation by NCCH, an expected property due to the amorphous area in the polymeric matrix. The biological tests with Escherichia coli e Staphylococcus aureus showed more antimicrobial activity of the NCCH/B than just the NCCH or Buriti oil.

Considerações Finais/Final considerations/Consideraciones finales

The final material proved itself as a complex in acidic medium with no phase segregation, maintaining the initial properties and increasing some characteristics, proving the potential bioproduct for treatment in regenerative medicine and wound healing.

Palavras-chave/Key words/Palabras clave

Biomaterials, Nanochitosan, Buriti Essencial Oil, Nanocomposite, Wound Healing.