Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun 9;14(12):2331.
doi: 10.3390/polym14122331.

Fabrication of Biocompatible Electrospun Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Gelatin Nanofibers Loaded with Pinus radiata Bark Extracts for Wound Healing Applications

Jessica Borges-Vilches  1 , Irem Unalan  2 , Katherina Fernández  1 , Aldo R Boccaccini  2
Affiliations

Fabrication of Biocompatible Electrospun Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Gelatin Nanofibers Loaded with Pinus radiata Bark Extracts for Wound Healing Applications

Jessica Borges-Vilches et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

In this study, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/gelatin (GEL) electrospun nanofibers loaded with two different concentrations of Pinus radiata bark extracts (PEs) were fabricated via electrospinning for wound healing applications. The effects of incorporating PE into PCL/GEL electrospun nanofibers were investigated regarding their physicochemical properties and in vitro biocompatibility. All electrospun nanofibers showed smooth, uniform, and bead-free surfaces. Their functional groups were detected by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, and their total phenol content was measured by a Folin-Ciocalteu assay. With PE addition, the electrospun nanofibers exhibited an increase in their wettability and degradation rates over time and a decrease in their tensile stress values from 20 ± 4 to 8 ± 2 MPa for PCL/GEL and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE samples, respectively. PE was also released from the fibrous mats in a rather controlled fashion. The PCL/GEL/0.18%PE and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers inhibited bacterial activity at around 6 ± 0.1% and 23 ± 0.3% against E. coli and 14 ± 0.1% and 18 ± 0.2% against S. aureus after 24 h incubation, respectively. In vitro cell studies showed that PE-loaded electrospun nanofibers enhanced HaCaT cell growth, attachment, and proliferation, favoring cell migration towards the scratch area in the wound healing assay and allowing a complete wound closure after 72 h treatment. These findings suggested that PE-loaded electrospun nanofibers are promising materials for antibiotic-free dressings for wound healing applications.

Keywords: Pinus radiata bark extracts; electrospun nanofibers; gelatin; poly(ε-caprolactone); wound healing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SEM images showing the morphology and the fiber diameter distribution of (a) PCL/GEL, (b) PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and (c) PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers. The pore size distribution in each case was determined by ImageJ software and is shown at the bottom of the plots: (a1): PCL/GEL, (b1): PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and (c1): PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) ATR-FTIR spectra of PCL/GEL, PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers, also showing the spectrum of PE. (b) Tensile stress-strain curves of PCL/GEL, PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Weight loss of PCL/GEL, PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers over the 35 days of incubation in PBS (pH = 7.4, 37 °C). Data are shown as mean ± SD on triplicate experiments (n = 3, * p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Release profiles over time of PE from PCL/GEL electrospun nanofibers immersed in PBS (pH = 7.4, 37 °C).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Antibacterial activity of PCL/GEL, PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofibers after 3, 6, and 24 h of incubation period: (a) S. aureus bacteria and (b) E. coli bacteria (Duncan test by one-way ANOVA analysis, n = 3, *** p < 0.001).
Figure 6
Figure 6
HaCaT cell viability onto the surfaces of PCL/GEL, PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofiber mats after 1 and 7 days of incubation (n = 3, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Fluorescent images of HaCaT cells cultured on the surfaces of PCL/GEL and PE-loaded PCL/GEL electrospun nanofiber mats after staining with DAPI–calcein and DAPI–phalloidin. The cytoplasm of cells, nuclei, and cytoskeleton are stained in green, blue, and red, respectively.
Figure 8
Figure 8
In vitro wound healing assay over time for PCL/GEL, PCL/GEL/0.18%PE, and PCL/GEL/0.36%PE electrospun nanofiber mats. The CNT used in this assay corresponded to HaCaT cells without a sample. The asterisk (*) indicates a significant difference (* p < 0.05) when analyzed by Duncan test by one-way ANOVA analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Zheng L., Zhang S., Ying Z., Liu J., Zhou Y., Chen F. Engineering of Aerogel-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications. Int. J. Nanomed. 2020;15:2363–2378. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S238005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Deng P., Jin W., Liu Z., Gao M., Zhou J. Novel multifunctional adenine-modified chitosan dressings for promoting wound healing. Carbohydr. Polym. 2021;260:117767. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117767. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sezer U.A., Kocer Z., Aru B., Demirel G.Y., Gulmez M., Aktekin A., Ozkara S., Sezer S. Combination of gelatin and tranexamic acid offers improved haemostasis and safe use on internal hemorrhage control. RSC Adv. 2016;6:95189–95198. doi: 10.1039/C6RA16790J. - DOI
    1. Feng C., Li J., Wu G.S., Mu Y.Z., Kong M., Jiang C.Q., Cheng X.J., Liu Y., Chen X.G. Chitosan-Coated Diatom Silica as Hemostatic Agent for Hemorrhage Control. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2016;8:34234–34243. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b12317. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Unalan I., Endlein S.J., Slavik B., Buettner A., Goldmann W.H., Detsch R., Boccaccini A.R. Evaluation of Electrospun Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Gelatin Nanofiber Mats Containing Clove Essential Oil for Antibacterial Wound Dressing. Pharmaceutics. 2019;11:570. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11110570. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources