Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ceramics International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ceramint Characterization and applications of a new composite material obtained by green synthesis, through deposition of zinc oxide onto calcium carbonate precipitated in green seaweeds extract Anca Dumbrava a, ⁎ , Daniela Berger b , Cristian Matei b , Marius Daniel Radu c , Emma Gheorghe d a Ovidius University of Constanta, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Constanta 900527, Romania b University Politehnica of Bucharest, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Bucharest 011061, Romania c Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Constanta 900527, Romania d Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta 900527, Romania ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Zinc oxide Precipitated calcium carbonate Composite material Topical application Burns Antioxidant activity ABSTRACT Zinc oxide was deposited onto calcium carbonate precipitated using a template of polysaccharides from Ulva lactuca green seaweeds (Black Sea). The resulted composite material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV–vis and FTIR spectroscopy. The ther- apeutic effect of prepared composite material was assessed in vivo as a topical application for the burns treatment and compared with that of ZnO. An increased antioxidant activity by combining zinc oxide with calcium car- bonate capped with polysaccharides from green seaweeds extract in a composite material was demonstrated. 1. Introduction Zinc is an essential component of more than 300 metalloenzymes and over 2000 transcription factors, and besides other physiological roles it exhibits antioxidant properties, being useful in preventing UV induced damage and in reducing the incidence of malignancy [1–4]. Also, zinc plays an important role in all skin functions (i.e. morpho- genesis, repair, maintenance, protection and defense) [5]. Zinc oxide is currently investigated as antibacterial agent in both microscale and nanoscale formulations. In dermatology, zinc oxide has used as pho- toprotector, soothing agent, active ingredient of antidandruff sham- poos, and in the treatment of infections (warts, leishmaniasis), in- flammatory dermatoses (acne vulgaris, rosacea), pigmentary disorders (melasma), and neoplasias (basal cell carcinoma). Topically applied zinc oxide improves the healing of leg ulcers and increases the rate of re-epithelialization. The sparingly soluble zinc oxide was found to be more effective and several studies showed that topically absorbed zinc into the wounds promotes their faster healing because it stimulates the cleaning of wounds. Sparingly soluble forms may offer benefit of a long- lasting, slow-release of zinc ions, maximizing their bioavailability [3,6–9]. The various factors, which affect the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles against pathogens, were investigated [10]. It was reported that the crystalline structure and particle shape had little in- fluence on the antimicrobial activity [11], but it is inversely propor- tional to the particle size [12]. Zn(II) ions can form varied complexes in solution/biological systems, resulting in the solubilization of zinc oxide, which also influences its antimicrobial activity [13]. The seaweeds are important source of polysaccharides, which are widely used as biopolymers for the synthesis of inorganic materials by biotechnological methods. In last years, many polysaccharides are also studied as antibacterial agents, mainly due to their biocompatibility. Furthermore, the natural polysaccharides have not drawbacks like bacterial resistance, high toxicity to humans, short shelf life, high production costs, etc. [14]. The researchers demonstrated that algal polysaccharides exhibit radical scavenger properties preventing the oxidative damage in living organisms [15]. The polysaccharides ex- tracted from Ulva green algae are a group of hetero-polysaccharides, mainly consisted in sulfated rhamnose and glucuronic acid, iduronic acid, xylose, glucose, with lower amounts of mannoses, arabinose, and galactose, which are generally referred as ulvan [16,17]. The anti- oxidant activity of polysaccharides depends on several parameters like the content and position of sulfate groups, the molecular weight, sugar type, and glycosidic branching [18]. Other biological effects of sulfated polysaccharides from seaweed like anticoagulant, antithrombotic, anti- inflammatory, antitumoral, contraceptive, and antiviral were also re- vealed [19]. Particularly, U. lactuca was evaluated as a source for controlling the human pathogenic microorganisms. Thus, U. lactuca extract was tested against Salmonella paratyphi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholera, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella dysentriae and Klebsiella pneumonia strains [17]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2017.12.084 Received 26 October 2017; Received in revised form 12 December 2017; Accepted 12 December 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx 0272-8842/ © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Please cite this article as: Dumbrava, A., Ceramics International (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2017.12.084