Search

Background and Objectives: A coaxial electrospinning technique was used to produce core/shell nanofibers of a polylactic acid (PLA) as a shell and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing metformin hydrochloride (MH) as a core. Materials and Methods: Fish sarcoplasmic protein (FSP) was extracted from fresh bonito and incorporated into nanofiber at various concentrations to investigate the influence on properties of the coaxial nanofibers. The morphology, chemical structure and thermal properties of the nanofibers were studied. Results: The results show that uniform and bead-free structured nanofibers with diameters ranging from 621 nm to 681 nm were obtained. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis shows that FSP had a reducing effect on the crystallinity of the nanofibers. Furthermore, the drug release profile of electrospun fibers was analyzed using the spectrophotometric method. Conclusions: The nanofibers showed prolonged and sustained release and the first order kinetic seems to be more suitable to describe the release. MTT assay suggests that the produced drug and protein loaded coaxial nanofibers are non-toxic and enhance cell attachment. Thus, these results demonstrate that the produced nanofibers had the potential to be used for diabetic wound healing applications.

The attempts to explore and optimize the efficiency of diabetic wound healing's promotors are still in progress. Incorporation of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2) in appropriate nanofibers (NFs) can prolong and maximize their promoting effect for the healing of diabetic wounds, through their sustained releases, as well as the nanofibers role in mimicking of the extra cellular matrix (ECM). The as-prepared nCeO2 were analyzed by using UV–Vis spectroscopy, XRD, SEM–EDX, TEM and FTIR, where TEM and SEM images of both aqueous suspension and powder showed spherical/ovoid-shaped particles. Biodegradable trilayer NFs with cytobiocompatibility were developed to sandwich nCeO2 in PVA NFs as a middle layer where PLA NFs were electrospun as outer bilayer. The nCeO2-loaded trilayer NFs were characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR and DSC. A two-stage release behavior was observed when the nanoceria was released from the trilayer-based nanofibers; an initial burst release took place, and then it was followed by a sustained release pattern. The mouse embryo fibroblasts, i.e., 3T3 cells, were seeded over the nCeO2-loaded NFs mats to investigate their cyto-biocompatibility. The presence and sustained release of nCeO2 efficiently enhance the adhesion, growth and proliferation of the fibroblasts' populations. Moreover, the incorporation of nCeO2 with a higher amount into the designed trilayer NFs demonstrated a significant improvement in morphological, mechanical, thermal and cyto-biocompatibility properties than lower doses. Overall, the obtained results suggest that designated trilayer nanofibrous membranes would offer a specific approach for the treatment of diabetic wounds through an effective controlled release of nCeO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the main aim was to fabricate propolis (Ps)-containing wound dressing patches using 3D printing technology. Different combinations and structures of propolis (Ps)-incorporated sodium alginate (SA) scaffolds were developed. The morphological studies showed that the porosity of developed scaffolds was optimized when 20% (v/v) of Ps was added to the solution. The pore sizes decreased by increasing Ps concentration up to a certain level due to its adhesive properties. The mechanical, swelling-degradation (weight loss) behaviors, and Ps release kinetics were highlighted for the scaffold stability. An antimicrobial assay was employed to test and screen antimicrobial behavior of Ps against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains. The results show that the Ps-added scaffolds have an excellent antibacterial activity because of Ps compounds. An in vitro cytotoxicity test was also applied on the scaffold by using the extract method on the human dermal fibroblasts (HFFF2) cell line. The 3D-printed SA–Ps scaffolds are very useful structures for wound dressing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]