PVA/Inulin-Based Sustainable Films Reinforced with Pickering Emulsion of Niaouli Essential Oil for Potential Wound Healing Applications

In this study, sustainable water-based films were produced via the solvent-casting method. Petroleum-free-based polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and carbohydrate-based inulin (INL) were used as matrices. Vegetable-waste pumpkin powder was used in the study because of its sustainability and antibacterial properties. Pickering emulsions were prepared using β-cyclodextrin. The influence of the different ratios of the β-cyclodextrin/niaouli essential oil (β-CD/NEO) inclusion complex (such as 1:1, 1:3, and 1:5) on the morphological (SEM), thermal (TGA), physical (FT-IR), wettability (contact angle), and mechanical (tensile test) characteristics of PVA/inulin films were investigated. Moreover, the antibacterial activities against the Gram (−) (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram (+) (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria of the obtained films were studied. From the morphological analysis, good emulsion stability and porosity were obtained in the Pickering films with the highest oil content, while instability was observed in the Pickering films with the lowest concentration of oil content. Thermal and spectroscopic analysis indicated there was no significant difference between the Pickering emulsion films and neat films. With the addition of Pickering emulsions, the tensile stress values decreased from 7.3 ± 1.9 MPa to 3.3 ± 0.2. According to the antibacterial efficiency results, films containing pumpkin powder and Pickering emulsion films containing both pumpkin powder and a ratio of 1:1 (β-CD/NEO) did not have an antibacterial effect, while Pickering emulsion films with a ratio of (β-CD/NEO) 1:3 and 1:5 showed an antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli, with a zone diameter of 12 cm and 17 cm, respectively. Among the samples, the films with ratio of (β-CD/NEO) 1:5 had the highest antioxidant capacity, as assessed by DPPH radical scavenging at 12 h intervals. Further, none of the samples showed any cytotoxic effects the according to LDH and WST-1 cytotoxicity analysis for the NIH3T3 cell line. Ultimately, it is expected that these films are completely bio-based and may be potential candidates for use in wound healing applications.