| Summary: | A biomedical patch must be mechanically stable in wound closure applications to restrain external forces normally exerted on human skin. For proper wound care, a highly efficient wound closure material is required, as it must provide an ideal environment for epidermis regeneration as well as protection against water loss and chronic wound inflammation. Most commercial wound dressings are naturally dry, and when removed, they may stick to the wound's surface, causing inflammation and pain. This demonstrates that they are still unable to meet the needs for wound care. Nanomaterials, interestingly, have the ability to destroy viruses and bacteria and could be used to treat wounds. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have piqued the interest of researchers in biotechnological and biomedical fields as catalysts, biosensors, and antibacterial and anticancer agents. Incorporating AgNPs into these wound dressing constructs may improve wound healing efficacy and speed. Gelatin was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent in this study to bio-synthesize AgNPs. The PVA-gel-AgNPs thin film patches were then fabricated using a drop casting method, and the effects of different amounts of AgNPs addition (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 percent) on mechanical and thermal properties were revealed. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile testing and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to analyses the changes of properties of the thin films chemically and physically. The addition of 0.9 percent AgNPs improved the electrical and mechatronic properties of the thin films significantly. These findings have revealed the utilization of nano-silver in thin films to significantly improve the properties for its potential in the field of biomedical applications. © 2024 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.
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