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Recent advances in tissue engineering have potential for the development of improved substitutes for damaged skin tissues. Vitamin C and lactic acid are well-known wound healing accelerators while chitosan is an important biomaterial having wound healing capabilities. However, addition of vitamin C induces fragility to the chitosan–lactic acid membranes. Therefore, the current study was designed to fabricate an intact chitosan–vitamin C–lactic acid composite membrane that may synergize the critical properties of every individual component for potential skin tissue engineering. For this purpose, different concentrations of glycerol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were added to strengthen the chitosan–vitamin C–lactic acid membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X–ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the biocompatibility of the prepared membranes was evaluated with fibroblast NIH 3T3 cells. The results showed that addition of glycerol and PEG has improved the strength of chitosan–vitamin C–lactic acid composite membrane. Characterization studies revealed the successful synthesis of chitosan–vitamin C–lactic acid composite membrane. Moreover, the prepared membranes showed excellent biocompatibility with NIH 3T3 cells. However, it is important to note that cells showed more attachment and spreading on porous chitosan composites membranes as compared to nonporous membranes. This study provided a base for the development of an intact chitosan–vitamin C–lactic acid composite membrane for skin tissue engineering. However, further preclinical and clinical studies are required for its practical applications in skin tissue engineering.

Background: Due to the rapid growth in life threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, chronic wound and HIV/AIDS along with rise of side effects of the current treatments, world is now focusing to utilize new treatment options. Currently, the development of green nanotechnology field seems as a potential alternate for diseases diagnosis and treatment by preparation of various sizes and shapes of nanomaterials. Objective: This review is to present the explored biological sources in synthesis of nanomaterials particularly metal and metal oxides nanoparticles and critical review of the applications of biosynthesized nanoparticles in pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. Methods: In this review, the various biological sources including bacteria, fungi, algae and plants used in synthesis of nanomaterials and mechanism involved in preparation are elaborated. In addition, biosynthesized nanomaterials applied as drug delivery system for anticancer, antibiotic, antidiabetic agent and functioned as potential diagnostic, antimicrobial, anticancer and wound healing candidate are comprehensively reviewed. Results: The synthesized metal and metal oxides from green protocol proved to have advantages such as biocompatible, effective and cheap. Furthermore, the green synthesized metal and metal oxide nanoparticles showed to possess prominent physical, chemical and biological properties that can be efficiently utilized for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Conclusion: The information gathered in this review will provide a baseline for exploring more potential usage of green synthesized metal and metal oxide nanomaterials for various other applications. However, a concrete understanding about the safety of these nanomaterials is still needed to minimize the potential side effects.