Structural, thermal, morphological and antibacterial activities of hybrid bio-nanocomposite Chitosan/Au/Bi₂O₃ for biomedical applications

Hybrid bio-nanocomposite of chitosan/Au/Bi₂O₃ films are prepared using nontoxic and low cost laser ablation method. The prepared nanocomposites are used to be applied as a wound healing materials. XRD and ATR-FTIR techniques are used to confirm the interaction and computability between the nanomaterials and chitosan polymer. The change in surface morphology is investigated used FESEM and the addition of both Au and Bi₂O₃ increase the surface roughness that is useful in wound dressing application. The thermal stability is also studied to investigate the thermal behavior of the films and found that addition of Bi₂O₃ NPs serves as a heat and mass insulator during thermal decomposition, which enhance the thermal stability of chitosan/Au NPs. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized chitosan/Au/Bi₂O₃ bio-nanocomposites toward gram-positive gram-negative bacteria was studied.