Egypt Study: Propolis Bandage Used to Treat Burn Wounds

Deacetylated cellulose acetate nanofibrous dressing loaded with chitosan/propolis nanoparticles for the effective treatment of burn wounds

Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Nov 10;S0141-8130(21)02432-6

Every year, about 1 out of 9 get burnt in Egypt, with a mortality rate of 37%, and they suffer from physical disfigurement and trauma. For the treatment of second-degree burns, we aim to make a smart bandage provided with control of drug release (chitosan nanoparticles) to enhance the healing process. This bandage is composed of natural materials such as cellulose acetate (CA), chitosan, propolis as the loaded drug (bee resin). Cellulose acetate nanofibers were deacetylated by NaOH after optimizing the reaction time and the concentration of NaOH solution, and the product was confirmed with FTIR analysis. Chitosan/propolis nanoparticles were prepared by ion gelation method with size ranging from 100 to 200 nm and a polydispersity index of 0.3. Chitosan/propolis nanoparticles were preloaded in the CA solution to ensure homogeneity. Loaded deacetylated cellulose nanofibers have shown the greatest hydrophobicity measured by contact angle. Cytotoxicity of propolis and chitosan/propolis nanoparticles were tested and the experimental IC50 value was about 137.5 and 116.0 μg/mL, respectively, with p-value ≤0.001. In addition, chitosan/propolis nanoparticles loaded into cellulose nanofibers showed a cell viability of 89.46%. In-vivo experiments showed that after 21 days of treatment with the loaded nanofibers repairing of epithelial cells, hair follicles and sebaceous glands in the skin of the burn wound were found in a mice model.