A new composite film from chitosan (CS) and biotin (BIO) was developed to enhance burn wound healing. The film was prepared by electrostatic interaction between CS and BIO. Four different ratios of CS to BIO v/v (4:1, 3:2, 2:3, and 1:4) were prepared. The films were comprehensively characterized using FTIR, DSC, and AFM. The in-vitro release studies showed that the most promising formula with the highest release behavior was CS to BIO 1: 4. The ex vivo adhesion times were reported as 0.50 ± 0.30 min for CS film compared to 6.2 ± 0.30, 8.4 ± 0.40, 11.2 ± 0.50, and 13.83 ± 1.04 min for CS to BIO films v/v (1:4, 2:3, 3:2 and 4:1), respectively. Most importantly, the skin healing activities of CS/BIO film in the excision wound model in mice and skin burn model in rats showed faster rates of healing compared to CS and placebo. Furthermore, skin stretching and burn wound contraction behavior treated with CS/BIO were higher than that of CS treated skin. In conclusion, the results obtained revealed that CS/BIO films possessed superior burn wound healing activity compared to CS.
Keywords: Chitosan; biotin; chitosan/biotin; topical film; wound healing.