A multifunctional composite film comprising a citric acid-crosslinked polysaccharide matrix loaded with nutmeg essential oil nanoemulsion: suitable for facilitating active wound healing.

Nutmeg essential oil shows promising antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties for wound healing, but its poor water solubility and low bioavailability restrict its practical use. In this study, an ultrasonic-assisted method was employed to create a nutmeg essential oil nanoemulsion with significantly improved stability and bioactivity. This nanoemulsion was incorporated into a composite film matrix composed of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and gum xanthan, with citric acid as the crosslinking agent, yielding several bioactive composite film samples (CGCN-0 to CGCN-3). Adding NEO-NE notably increased the films' tensile strength and structural stability. Specifically, the tensile strength of the CGCN-0 film rose from 10.76 ± 2.82 MPa to 19.64 ± 1.05 MPa in the CGCN-3 film. Moreover, the NEO-NE-loaded film displayed enhanced antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities, and showed excellent biocompatibility as demonstrated by cytotoxicity and hemolysis tests. In vivo experiments revealed that the CGCN-3 group significantly accelerated the healing of full-thickness skin wounds in mice. Overall, this composite membrane containing NEO-NE offers an effective strategy to enhance the stability and bioactivity of essential oils, transforming the wound's passive healing process into active healing, and providing new insights into the field of wound dressings.