Ti2NTx MXene and Carbon Quantum Dots Modified Chitosan Scaffold for Potential Wound Healing: In Vitro Assessment of Cytotoxicity, Hemocompatibility, Antioxidant, and Antibacterial Properties

Abstract

The development of multifunctional scaffolds capable of simultaneously promoting tissue regeneration, preventing infection, and maintaining hemocompatibility remains a key challenge in wound healing applications. Here, bio-functional porous chitosan scaffolds are developed by combining Ti2NTx MXene and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for wound healing applications. Scaffold containing Ti2NTx and CQDs achieves 94.73% inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and 76.13% against Escherichia coli. Hemocompatibility assays showed low hemolysis rates (0.98% for CS-CQDs-MXene), well below the 5% ASTM threshold, indicating excellent blood compatibility. Cytocompatibility studies using L929 fibroblast cells demonstrated high cell viability (>80%) and significant proliferation (125.58% at 72 h for CS-CQDs-MXene), with the scaffold promoting 46.32% wound closure in a 24-h scratch assay, outperforming CS (27.08%) and CS-CQDs (38.22%). CS-CQDs-MXene exhibited superior antioxidant activity across multiple assays, including 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH;39.5 mg TE/g), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP:43.8 mg TE/g), total antioxidant capacity (TAC: 1.12 +/- 0.08 mmol TE/g), and metal chelating activity (MCA:17.76 +/- 0.36 mg EDTAE/g), indicating its capacity to scavenge free radicals and regulate redox balance in wound environments. These findings highlight the CS-CQDs-MXene scaffold as a promising multifunctional platform for wound healing, offering superior antibacterial activity, biocompatibility, and regenerative potential for advanced biomedical applications.