El-Ghoul Yassine, Altuwayjiri Abdulmohsen S, Alharbi Ghadah A
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Qassim University Buraidah 51452 Saudi Arabia
Textile Engineering Laboratory, University of Monastir Monastir 5019 Tunisia.
RSC Adv. 2024 Aug 19;14(36):26183-26197. doi: 10.1039/d4ra04231j. eCollection 2024 Aug 16.
Recently, the design of polymer nanofibers using the electrospinning process has attracted much interest. Particularly the use of natural polymers has promoted many advantages in their biomedical applications. However, the combination of multiple natural polymers remains a great challenge in terms of electrospun production and applied performance. From this perspective, the current investigation highlights the study of the preparation of electrospun nanomaterial scaffolds based on combined natural polymers for improved wound healing performance. First, we have synthesized a crosslinked polymer by reacting microcrystalline cellulose (MC) and chitosan (CS) biopolymer the intermediate of citric acid as a crosslinking agent. Then a natural propolis biomolecule was incorporated into the polymer network. Different MC/CS blend ratios of 90/10 and 70/30 were then used and various machine parameters were optimized to obtain nanofiber scaffolds with excellent strength and structures. SEM, IR, physicochemical, mechanical, and morpho-logical characterization were then performed. SEM evaluation revealed homogeneous and bead-free nanofibrous structures, with well-defined morphology and a random deposition that could accurately mimic the extracellular matrix of native skin. The calculated average nanofiber diameters for the MC/CS blend ratios at 90/10 and 70/30 were 431.4 and 441.2 nm, respectively. The results showed that when the chitosan amount increased, larger nanofibers with narrow diameter distribution appeared. The prepared nanomaterials had a significant and close water vapor permeability of about 1735.12 and 1698.52 g per m per day for the two blend ratios of 90/10 and 70/30, respectively. The examination of swelling behavior revealed a noteworthy enhancement in hydrophilicity, a necessary attribute for improved healing efficacy. FT-IR analysis confirmed the success and the stability of the chemical crosslinking reaction between the two biopolymers before nanofiber conception. Excellent mechanical properties were acquired, based on the chitosan content. Both developed nanofiber scaffolds exhibited high tensile strength and Young's modulus values. The incorporation of 30% chitosan 10% results in an increase in tensile strength of 11% and 14% in Young's modulus. Therefore, we could adjust the different mechanical properties simply by varying the mixing rate of the electrospun polymers. Using epithelial HepG2 cells, viability and kinetic cell adhesion assays were assessed to obtain biological evaluation. No cytotoxicity was observed and good cytocompatibility was confirmed. Functionalized nanofiber biomaterials with different MC/CS ratios substantiated significant bactericidal effectiveness against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial culture strains. The novel functional electrospun wound dressing scaffold demonstrated effective and promising biomedical performance, healing both acute and chronic wounds.
近年来,利用静电纺丝工艺制备聚合物纳米纤维引起了广泛关注。特别是天然聚合物的使用在其生物医学应用中展现出诸多优势。然而,多种天然聚合物的组合在静电纺丝生产及应用性能方面仍是巨大挑战。从这一角度出发,当前研究着重于基于复合天然聚合物制备静电纺纳米材料支架以提升伤口愈合性能。首先,我们通过使微晶纤维素(MC)与壳聚糖(CS)这两种生物聚合物反应,并以柠檬酸中间体作为交联剂,合成了一种交联聚合物。接着将天然蜂胶生物分子引入聚合物网络。随后使用了90/10和70/30这两种不同的MC/CS混合比例,并优化了各种机器参数,以获得具有优异强度和结构的纳米纤维支架。然后进行了扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、红外光谱(IR)、物理化学、力学及形态学表征。SEM评估显示出均匀且无珠的纳米纤维结构,形态明确且随机沉积,能够精确模拟天然皮肤的细胞外基质。对于90/10和70/30的MC/CS混合比例,计算得出的平均纳米纤维直径分别为431.4纳米和441.2纳米。结果表明,随着壳聚糖含量增加,出现了直径分布较窄的更大纳米纤维。所制备的纳米材料对于90/10和70/30这两种混合比例分别具有显著且相近的水蒸气透过率,约为每天每平方米1735.12克和1698.52克。对溶胀行为的研究表明亲水性有显著增强,这是提高愈合效果的必要特性。傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT - IR)分析证实了在制备纳米纤维之前两种生物聚合物之间化学交联反应的成功及稳定性。基于壳聚糖含量获得了优异的力学性能。所开发的两种纳米纤维支架均表现出高拉伸强度和杨氏模量值。掺入30%壳聚糖(相对于10%)使拉伸强度提高了11%,杨氏模量提高了14%。因此,我们可以通过改变静电纺聚合物的混合比例来简单调整不同的力学性能。使用上皮HepG2细胞进行了活力和细胞黏附动力学测定以获得生物学评估。未观察到细胞毒性,证实了良好的细胞相容性。具有不同MC/CS比例的功能化纳米纤维生物材料对革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌培养菌株均具有显著的杀菌效果。这种新型功能性静电纺伤口敷料支架展现出有效且有前景的生物医学性能,可治愈急性和慢性伤口。