A New Generation of Electrospun Fibers Containing Bioactive Glass Particles for Wound Healing.

Chitosan fibers blended with polyethylene oxide (CHIT&#95;PEO) and crosslinked with genipin were fabricated by electrospinning technique. Subsequently, CHIT&#95;PEO bioactive glass composite electrospun mats were fabricated with the aim to achieve flexible structures with adequate mechanical properties and improved biological performance respect to CHIT&#95;PEO fibers, for potential applications in wound healing. Three different compositions of bioactive glasses (BG) were selected and investigated: 45S5 BG, a Sr and Mg containing bioactive glass (BGMS10) and a Zn-containing bioactive glass (BGMS&#95;2Zn). Particulate BGs (particles size < 20 μm) were separately added to the starting CHIT&#95;PEO solution before electrospinning. The two recently developed bioactive glasses (BGMS10 and BGMS&#95;2Zn) showed very promising biological properties in terms of bioactivity and cellular viability; thus, such compositions were added for the first time to CHIT&#95;PEO solution to fabricate composite electrospun mats. The incorporation of bioactive glass particles and their distribution into CHIT&#95;PEO fibers were assessed by SEM and FTIR analyses. Furthermore, CHIT&#95;PEO composite electrospun mats showed improved mechanical properties in terms of Young's Modulus compared to neat CHIT&#95;PEO fibers; on the contrary, the values of tensile strain at break (%) were comparable. Biological performance in terms of cellular viability was investigated by means of WST-8 assay and CHIT&#95;PEO composite electrospun mats showed cytocompatibility and the desired cellular viability.