• antiadhesive membranes
• Chitosan
• Chitosano
• Eugenol
• Eugenolo
• membrane antiadesive

Postoperative adhesions have a considerable impact on human health and are a frequently encountered problem in patients after surgery. Clinical complications can range from pain to more delicate situations in which further surgery is required to remove the scar tissue formed. To facilitate tissue separation following surgery, several techniques have been developed in recent decades that rely on the use of biocompatible, in some cases biodegradable, polymeric membranes implanted at the level of the surgical incision to prevent tissue adhesion and ensure clean margins.
In this project, chitosan was used to fabricate polymeric membranes loaded with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating eugenol, an active ingredient known for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activities. In particular, its bioactivity can be exploited for the prevention and treatment of numerous post-surgical complications. NPs were prepared by nanoprecipitation of an acetone solution of PLGA and eugenol into an aqueous phase, using chitosan as a surfactant, given its amphiphilic nature. The membranes were fabricated using Computer-Aided Wet-Spinning (CAWS), an additive manufacturing technique based on the extrusion and layer-upon-layer deposition of a polymeric solution into a coagulation bath. In vitro biological characterization studies demonstrated the cytocompatibility of the developed NPs and hydrogels using the murine fibroblast cell line Balb/3T3 clone A31. Nevertheless, cells did not adhere to the polymeric surface, proving the anti-adhesive properties of the developed membranes. Antioxidative activity and antimicrobial activity were also valuated.