Development of part-dissolvable chitosan fibers with surface N-succinylation for wound care dressing

To enhance the liquor absorptivity of chitosan fibers (CS-Fs), N-succinyl surface-modified chitosan fibers (NSCS-Fs) were developed and evaluated for wound healing. The NSCS-Fs exhibited cracks on the surface and high liquor absorbing capacity with absorbing–dissolvable equilibrium state in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The bacteriostasis ratios of NSCS-Fs against E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans were higher than 80%. No cytotoxicity has been found for mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) treated with NSCS-Fs leach liquor. Acute oral toxicity and skin irritation experiment were taken to evaluate the safety of NSCS-Fs in vitro. Muscle implant study showed that NSCS-Fs were biodegradable and non-toxic in vivo. These results suggested that the surface modified NSCS-Fs had favorable biological properties and improved liquor absorptivity, indicating that they could be used as promising dressing materials for wound care.