Multifunctional electrospun polyvinyl alcohol/gellan gum/polycaprolactone nanofibrous membrane containing pentoxifylline to accelerate wound healing

Abstract

In this research, a novel drug-loaded nanofibrous membrane composed of polyvinyl alcohol/gellan gum (PVA/GG) on polycaprolactone (PCL) as a scaffold to deliver pentoxifylline (PTX) was fabricated for wound healing. The morphology and mean fiber diameter of scaffolds were characterized. Mechanical properties, wettability, degradation rate, and drug delivery were evaluated for each fibrous scaffold. The cytotoxicity evaluation of the samples was conducted using human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). The results confirmed that PVA/GG with the ratio of 50:50 has an optimum fibers’ diameter ranging between 86 and 110 nm, over 76 of porosity, and a desired mechanical properties for skin tissue engineering. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elastic modulus of the PTX-loaded scaffold (PVA/GG 50:50) decreased compared with the non-loaded one. Adding 20 mg/ml PTX to the scaffold caused a considerable increase in the samples’ degradation. Furthermore, the PTX-loaded scaffold showed a higher wettability and roughness in comparison with the one without PTX. The PTX was released from the fibrous membrane up to 120 h. HDFs’ viability and adhesion were significantly higher for drug-loaded scaffolds compared with the control group. In summary, the nanofibrous composite scaffold made of PTX-PVA-GG/PCL could be used as a suitable wound dressing for speeding up wound regeneration. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.