Chitosan-poly(aminopropyl/phenylsilsesquioxane) hybrid nanocomposite membranes for antibacterial and drug delivery applications

We fabricated hybrid (CSSQ) membranes from chitosan and poly(aminopropyl/phenylsilsesquioxane) (PAPSQ) blends via a sol-gel reaction and solution casting followed by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. The CSSQ membranes were then used for loading of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as an anticancer drug as well as templates for the production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The physicochemical properties of the CSSQ membranes were examined using UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM results showed the controllable formation of AgNPs around PAPSQ. CSSQ-Ag nanocomposite membranes exhibited good antibacterial activity towards both Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, while the CSSQ membranes worked as good carriers for controlled release of 5-FU as model drug. The results suggest that both CSSQ and CSSQ-Ag nanocomposite membranes can be potentially applied for biomedical applications such as controlled release carriers as well as antibacterial wound dressing materials.