3rd TAGRA

Microbial infections are among the major factors that impair wound healing, and the increasing prevalence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has highlighted the need to develop novel wound dressings with antimicrobial properties. The incorporation of antimicrobial nanomaterials into biocompatible polymer matrices represents a promising approach to improving wound dressing performance. The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate the antimicrobial properties of a wound dressing containing silver quantum dots, zinc oxide quantum dots, and chitosan polymer. In this study, silver and zinc oxide quantum dots were synthesized, and chitosan was used as the polymeric matrix to prepare the composite wound dressing. To characterize the physicochemical and structural properties of the synthesized nanomaterials and the prepared wound dressing, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were performed. The results of these analyses confirmed the formation of silver and zinc oxide quantum dots. The antimicrobial activity of the prepared wound dressing was also evaluated against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus species using the agar diffusion assay and determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The results demonstrated that the prepared wound dressing exhibited antimicrobial activity against some of the tested bacteria. Overall, the findings indicate the potential of the composite wound dressing containing silver quantum dots, zinc oxide quantum dots, and chitosan to inhibit certain bacteria. These findings may provide a basis for further research into the development of nanostructured wound dressings with antimicrobial properties.