Introduction

Chronic wounds, particularly diabetic wounds, represent a major healthcare challenge due to prolonged inflammation which impairs normal wound healing process and increases susceptibility to bacterial infections, leading to further complications which may reduce patients’ quality of life. Conventional wound dressings merely act as a basic protective barrier against infection and possess limited efficacy to maintain an optimal microenvironment for wound healing. Hence, they are inadequate for chronic wound treatment, highlighting the need for more advanced therapeutic strategies. Alginate-based wound dressings have emerged as a promising approach owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, moisture retention, and exudate absorption capabilities. Gallium can enhance scaffold functionality by serving as both crosslinking and antibacterial agent; while Kigelia africana which is rich in phenolic compounds, was found to exhibit excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial activities for wound healing. Therefore, this study aimed to develop gallium crosslinked alginate-based scaffolds enriched with Kigelia africana as a potential multifunctional dressing for chronic wound management.

Objectives

1. To prepare gallium crosslinked alginate-based scaffolds loaded with Kigelia africana powder via lyophilisation