In Vitro Cytotoxicity and Cell Seeding Studies of a Chitosan-silver Composite for Potential Wound Management Applications

There have been concerns raised over the treatment of acute burns with silver particles because of the potential toxicity caused by silver. As the wound heals, a membrane is formed between the silver particle and the blood, but this membrane is not impenetrable, which might lead to further silver absorption. This paper reports the in vitro cytotoxicity of silver-chitosan composites prepared as films and paste with various concentration of chitosan and a fixed concentration of 3 w/v % of silver nitrate, AgNO3. UV photo reduction was used to convert the silver ions (Ag+) to silver particles, and the effect of adding silver to chitosan was thoroughly studied. Cell attachment studies using Normal Human Dermal Fibroblasts (NHDFs) are being carried out, and more evidence for the reliability of using silver as an antimicrobial agent in chitosan composites for wound management applications could be gained.