Abstract: Natural biopolymers have excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability; they can be used as biomedical materials for wound healing. In this work, the Silk Fibroin (SF) and κ-carrageenan (κ-Car) composite films containing Zinc-doped Bioactive Glass (ZBG) have been fabricated for wound closure applications. The as-fabricated SF–κ-Car/ZBG composite films have excellent stretchability and foldability, which facilitates them for application as wound dressing. They also exhibit excellent hydrophilicity and water-absorption capacity, which can effectively absorb wound exudate and keep the wound sites under moist state. In addition, the composite films have a good antibacterial effect against S. aureus and E. coli in vitro, which can reduce the risk of wound infection. Their excellent cell compatibility is confi rmed by the CCK-8 assay. The strong vascular proliferation and wound regeneration are found in SF–κ-Car/ZBG composite films on a mouse skin wound model. The SF–κCar/ZBG composite films can inhibit the secretion of inflammatory factors, and stimulate the production of vascular factors and collagen fibers. The results derived from the performed investigations revealed that the SF–κ-Car/ZBG composite films are a promising candidate dressing for wound healing applications.

Key words: Wound dressings, Silk fi broin, κ-Carrageenan, Zinc-doped bioactive glass, Wound healing