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Microbial infection and oxidative damage of the fibroblast often results in prolonged and incomplete wound healing. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for a scaffold being effective to prevent any possible infection and neutralize excessively released free radicals. Herein, we designed a PCL-based nanofiber loaded with ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CHL) and quercetin. Developed nanofiber showed the formation of smooth and continuous nanofiber with 101.59 ± 29.18 nm average diameter and entrapping the drugs in amorphous form without any possible physico-chemical interaction between drugs and excipient. High entrapment efficiency (CHL: 92.04% and Que: 94.32%) and prolonged in-vitro release (for 7 days) demonstrated the capability of scaffold to suppress any probable infection and oxidative damage, which was further confirmed by in-vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activity. The biocompatibility of scaffold for direct application to wound site was evaluated through hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility assay. The wound healing efficacies of nanofiber were assessed using full thickness wound model in rats, which displayed accelerated wound healing with complete re-epithelialization and improved collagen deposition within 16 days. In-vivo wound healing finding was further corroborated by SOD, catalase, and hydroxyproline assay. The current study validates the application of ciprofloxacin HCl and quercetin functionalized nanofiber as a potential wound dressing material.

An open wound is highly susceptible to microbial infection leading to elevated level of inflammatory response. For prompt healing, a wound requires a biomimetic dressing material with ideal hydrophilicity and tensile strength, possessing antimicrobial and antioxidant property. Although PCL-based nanofibers have sufficient tensile strength and biocompatibility, it lacks in terms of optimum hydrophilicity and biodegradation. Therefore, we fabricated a PCL-gelatin based electrospun nanofibers, enriched with quercetin and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CH). The average diameter of developed nanofibers was 725.943 ± 201.965 nm, and devoid of chemical interaction between two drugs and polymers. CH and quercetin exhibited biphasic in-vitro release in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The in-vitro antibacterial and antioxidant property of scaffolds were evaluated by film-diffusion against Staphylococcus aureus and DPPH assay, respectively. The addition of gelatin along with CH and quercetin enhanced the hydrophilicity (contact angle = 48.8 ± 2.95°) and biodegradation rate of the nanofibers. In-vitro biocompatibility of scaffold was examined by hemocompatibility and fibroblast viability using MTT assay. The results confirm the direct application of scaffold in the wounded area. Further, complete closure of full-thickness wound within 16 days, and regulation of hydroxyproline, SOD and catalase level in granulation tissues following treatment with scaffold, confirmed its application for accelerated wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]