Preparation and characterization of wool fiber reinforced nonwoven alginate hydrogel for wound dressing

Wound healing is a complex process which requires an appropriate environment for quick healing. Recently, biodegradable hydrogel-based wound dressings have been seen to have high potential owing to their biodegradability and hydrated molecular structure. In this work, a novel biodegradable composite of sodium alginate hydrogel with wool needle-punched nonwoven fabric was produced for wound dressing by sol–gel technique. The wool nonwoven was dipped in the sodium alginate-water solution and then soaked in calcium chloride solution which resulted in hydrogel formation. FTIR analysis and SEM images confirm the presence of alginate hydrogel inside the needle-punched wool nonwoven fabric. The wound exudate absorbing capacity of hydrogel based wool nonwoven was increased 30 times as compared to pure wool nonwoven. Moreover, the tensile strength and moisture management properties of hydrogel based nonwoven were also enhanced. The unique combination of alginate hydrogel with biocompatible wool nonwoven fabric provides moist environment and can help in cell proliferation during wound healing process.