ALOE VERA EMBEDDED WITH SILVER/HYDROXYAPATITE NANOCOMPOSITE FOR ENHANCED WOUND HEALING (IN VITRO), SUPPORTED BY MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES

Abstract

Aloe vera (AV) is integrated into the synthesis of nanocomposites (NCs) hydrogel with gelatin (G), hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HA NPs), and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to explore their potential for wound healing applications in vitro. The AV/HA-G and AV/HA/Ag-G NCs structure were validated by FTIR, XRD, TEM, and SEM analyses. The porous structures of AV/HA/Ag-G NCs with varying hexagonal and cubic crystallinity levels were observed by SEM and XRD because of HA and Ag NPs. Furthermore, water uptake capacity decreased by approximately 42% in the AV/HA/Ag-G NCs, while compression analysis demonstrated a 40% increase compared to pure G. Cytocompatibility studies underscored the safety of AV/HA/G and AV/HA/Ag-G NCs, with minimal hemolytic activity within acceptable limits. Thrombogenicity tests indicated that AV/HA/Ag-G NC enhanced thrombi-forming capabilities compared to AV/HA/G NC, demonstrating their potential as promising candidates for wound-healing applications. Molecular docking studies were conducted to explore the binding sites of wound-healing targets with NCs. Results revealed that the AV/HA/Ag-G NC demonstrated strong binding affinities to the wound-healing targets TNF-α, TGF-β, and Collagen α-1 (I), indicating their potential as therapeutic agents for promoting skin wound healing. This approach incorporates natural healing agents with antimicrobial properties to develop promising materials that can be applied in wound dressings.