Abstract

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) incorporated antibacterial cosmeceutical peel-off mask was formulated by co-polymerization of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with sodium alginate (NaAlg), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), or hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and characterized. Scanning electron micrograph indicated entrapped nanoparticles with a diameter of 26.71–51.82 nm, while EDX showed AgNPs concentration of 0.7 Wt%. The test gel exhibited a high degree of moisture retention, hydrophilicity with contact angle values of ≈ 35 ° and surface energy of ≈ 160 mN m^{− 1}. Diffusion study indicated AgNPs release of 0.10 µg mL^{− 1}, 0.09 µg mL^{− 1}, and 0.12 µg mL^{− 1} for PVA-NaAlg, PVA-HPMC, and PVA-HEC with gel strength of 1.79 ± 1.84 (N), 0.94 ± 1.21 (N), and 1.16 ± 0.79 (N), respectively. Antibacterial efficacy of the peel-off gel demonstrated > 99 % growth reduction for Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, the gel demonstrated biocompatibility with human red blood cells and fibroblast L929 cells, with ≈ 90% viability. Freeze-thaw stability studies showed that the AgNPs peel-off mask formulations were consistent and stable. The study revealed that the polymers used were suitable for gel formulation, and the incorporation of silver nanoparticles could act as antibacterial component of facial peel-off gel without altering the properties of polymeric gel.