Halloysite and chitosan oligosaccharide nanocomposite for wound healing

Halloysite is a natural nanotubular clay mineral (HNTs, Halloysite Nano Tubes) chemically identical to kaolinite and, due to its good biocompatibility, is an attractive nanomaterial for a vast range of biological applications. Chitosan oligosaccharides are homo- or heterooligomers of N-acetylglucosamine and D-glucosamine, that accelerate wound healing by enhancing the functions of inflammatory and repairing cells. The aim of the work was the development of a nanocomposite based on HNTs and chitosan oligosaccharides, to be used as pour powder to enhance healing in the treatment of chronic wounds. A 1:0.05 weight ratio HTNs/chitosan oligosaccharide nanocomposite was obtained by simply stirring the HTNs powder in a 1% aqueous chitosan oligosaccharide solution and was formed by spontaneous ionic interaction resulting in 98.6% w/w HTNs and 1.4% w/w chitosan oligosaccharide composition. Advanced electron microscopy techniques were considered to confirm the structure of the hybrid nanotubes. Both HTNs and HTNs/chitosan oligosaccharide nanocomposite showed good in vitro biocompatibility with normal human dermal fibroblasts up to 300 μg/ml concentration and enhanced in vitro fibroblast motility, promoting both proliferation and migration. The HTNs/chitosan oligosaccharide nanocomposite and the two components separately were tested for healing capacity in a murine (rat) model. HTNs/chitosan oligosaccharide allowed better skin reepithelization and reorganization than HNTs or chitosan oligosaccharide separately. The results suggest to develop the nanocomposite as a medical device for wound healing.