Preparation of antibacterial composite aerogel for biomedical purposes based on alginate-chitosan complex and calcium carbonate

Aerogel composites were synthesized on the basis of the sodium alginate-chitosan interpolymer complex with the inclusion of calcium carbonate microparticles and supercritical drying. It is shown that the textural characteristics of materials do not depend on the morphology of calcium carbonate particles: the specific surface area of aerogels is almost the same for all materials and amounts to 380–400 m2/g. The developed porous structure of composites along with the polyelectrolyte nature determines their high water absorption— up to 110 g/g. To impart antimicrobial properties, the materials were impregnated with atranorin isolated from the lichen Hypogymnia physodes, which has a pronounced inhibitory effect on the bacterium Proteus mirabilis, which is the main causative agent of wound infections. The minimum suppressive concentration of atranorine is 1 mg/ml. The release of the main amount of atranorine aerosol material included in the matrix occurs within 4 hours and amounts to 50%.