ZnO nanoparticles induced effects on nanomechanical behavior and cell viability of chitosan films

The aim of this paper is to develop novel chitosan–zinc oxide nanocomposite films for biomedical applications. The films were fabricated with 1, 5, 10 and 15% w/w of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated with chitosan (CS) using a simple method. The prepared nanocomposite films were characterized using atomic force microscopy, Raman and X-ray diffraction studies. In addition, nano and micro mechanical properties were measured. It was found that the microhardness, nanohardness and its corresponding elastic modulus increased with the increase of ZnO NP percentage in the CS films. However, the ductility of films decreased as the percentage of ZnO NPs increased. Cell attachment and cytotoxicity of the prepared films at days two and five were evaluated in vitro using osteoblasts (OBs). It was observed that OB viability decreased in films with higher than 5% ZnO NPs. This result suggests that although ZnO NPs can improve the mechanical properties of pure CS films, only a low percentage of ZnO NPs can be applied for biomedical and bioengineering applications because of the cytotoxicity effects of these particles.