{
  "abstract": "The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections has created an urgent need for antibacterial biomaterials that combine effective antimicrobial activity with good biocompatibility. In this study, niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5)-loaded chitosan–gelatin (CG-Nb) hybrid hydrogels containing 1.1% (G1), 1.6% (G2), and 2.0% (G3) (w/w) Nb2O5 were evaluated for their antibacterial activity, photo-induced singlet oxygen generation, and cytocompatibility. Antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was assessed using agar diffusion, direct-contact colony reduction, and scanning electron microscopy, while singlet oxygen generation was investigated using the 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) bleaching assay. Cytocompatibility was evaluated using L929 fibroblasts according to ISO 10993-5. The CG-Nb hydrogels exhibited concentration-dependent antibacterial activity, with G3 showing the highest antibacterial activity among the investigated formulations. G3 produced estimated bacterial reductions of 95.7% against S. aureus and 93.3% against E. coli in the direct-contact assay, while maintaining 87.3 ± 4.8% L929 fibroblast viability after 24 h. SEM analysis revealed progressive morphological changes in bacterial cells with increasing Nb2O5 content. The DPA bleaching assay demonstrated that G3 generated photo-induced singlet oxygen under blue-light irradiation. Because the antibacterial assays were performed without blue-light irradiation, the present results do not allow the photo-induced singlet oxygen generation observed in the DPA assay to be directly associated with the antibacterial activity of the hydrogels. Overall, the Nb2O5-containing chitosan–gelatin hydrogels exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity across the evaluated concentration range while maintaining favorable cytocompatibility under the tested conditions. These findings provide a biological evaluation of the previously developed hydrogel platform and support further investigation of CG-Nb hydrogels for antibacterial biomaterial applications.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Functional Materials and Electronics, State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Muhammad Usman Khalid",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-1440-8228"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kamilė Kasperavičiūtė",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-0933-4201"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Antanas Straksys",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9923-2490"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Arunas Stirke",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8081-3487"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wanessa De Melo"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4ke3t541tyhqg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27209124",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4ke3t541tyhqg",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9124",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1605|Antimicrobial agents and applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222329360",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4ke3t541tyhqg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27209124",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9124"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1605|Antimicrobial agents and applications",
      "subfield": "organic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Antibacterial and Photoactive Niobium Pentoxide-Loaded Chitosan–Gelatin Hydrogels with Favorable Cytocompatibility",
  "title_text": "Antibacterial and Photoactive Niobium Pentoxide-Loaded Chitosan–Gelatin Hydrogels with Favorable Cytocompatibility",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4ke3t541tyhqg",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}