Antiseptic chitosan acetate-chlorhexidine spray for wound cleaning

The presence of microbial biofilms in acute and chronic wound infections creates a significant dermal complication as these biofilms interfere with wound healing and complicate the regenerative process. Effective cleaning of wound bed remains essential because it eliminates necrotic materials, biofilms, and contaminants leading to faster treatment and decreased secondary infections. A novel antiseptic spray formulation using chitosan acetate (CA) and chlorhexidine (CHX) was developed aiming infection control. In the present study, an antiseptic CA-CHX spray, with poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as the film-forming agent was formulated. FTIR studies confirmed the incorporation of CHX in the CA-CHX spray. FESEM images showed spherical shape of the particles with an average size of 1μm. The CA-CHX spray exhibited excellent spraying ability, remarkable film-forming property and stability across different temperature ranges. In vitro antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity was studied against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and MRSA. In vivo fly infection model using wild-type Drosophila melanogaster further proved antibacterial property of the CA-CHX spray against these bacteria. To understand the cytotoxicity effect of CA and CA-CHX spray, cell viability study was conducted against the L929 cells. These research findings demonstrated that the developed antiseptic CA-CHX spray could be effectively used for wound cleaning.