Development of polypropylene wound dressing coated with chitosan and Estradiol Valerate: A novel approach to chronic wound care

Abstract

Chronic wounds remain a significant and ongoing challenge in clinical care. Polypropylene (PP) fabrics are gaining attention and incorporating chitosan (CS) significantly enhances the performance of polypropylene-based wound dressings. In this study, we fabricated wound dressings by coating CS and estradiol (Est) on polypropylene fabrics. Two formulations containing 250 and 500 microg Est were developed. The formulations were prepared by soaking the PP into 5 CS and 250 or 500 microg/mL Est. Both formulations showed sustained release pattern of Est (more than 94 ) over 72 h. Cytotoxicity assay on L929 cell line proved the biocompatibility of PP/CS after 5 days. Also, scratch test was performed and revealed that the PP/CS-500 group achieved approximately 95 wound closure by 24 h, indicated that the patches could enhance the fibroblast motility and proliferation. Also, the results proposed that PP/CS-500 remarkably enhanced TGF-beta and IL-10 while IL-6 and TNF-alpha were reduced compared to the control group (P < 0.05). To evaluate the wound healing potential of the application of PP meshes treated by CS and Est, 20 Wistar rats were subdivided into four groups. The results indicated that the PP/CS-500 patch exhibited 74.00 +/- 1.41 achievement in the promotion of wound healing and acceleration of granulation tissue regeneration. Also, the expression of collagen Type I gene was enhanced 3-fold increase in the PP/CS-500 in comparison with PP/CS-250 and control groups. Overall, coating the CS and Est on PP could be a promising formulation for the management of chronic wounds.