Thermal stability and antibacterial activity of Er 2 O 3 , and Co 3 O 4 scattered in polycaprolactone

The development of a biocompatible wound dressing with good antibacterial and fasting for healing skin wounds is still a challenge. Through the film casting, a polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold is manufactured with different ratios of metal oxides such as Erbium oxide (Er 2 O 3 ) and Cobalt oxide (Co 3 O 4 ). The fabricated films were examined using XRD, SEM, FTIR, and XPS. The study of surface morphology exhibits diameters of pores in the range of 1–7 µm. The contact angle tested with a drop of water and showed that it is in decreased from 55.67˚ for pure PCL then lowered to 47.85˚ for Er 2 O 3 @PCL and slightly decreased to 41.195˚ for Co 3 O 4 @PCL and a significant decrease occurred to 34.435˚ for Er 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 @PCL and then it slightly increased to 38.02˚ for Er 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 /GO@PCL. In addition, the TGA started from room temperature up to 200 °C by a weight loss of around 3 %. The cell viability is examined for Er 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 /GO@PCL and it showed that the IC 50 at 4000 µg/ml and with lowering the concentration, the viable cells tend to increase. On the other hand, an antibacterial test against E. coli and S. aureus showed high antibacterial activity in Er 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 /GO@PCL. The wound bandages were developed using loaded materials which represent good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high antibacterial behavior that inhibit bacterial growth on the surface of the wound which might accelerate the wound healing period. Moreover, it has been approved that, the surface porosity might enhance the mutual transfer of gases between the wound and the outer environment.