Abstract
One-layer wound dressings cannot meet all the clinical needs due to their individual characteristics and shortcomings. Therefore, bilayer wound dressings which are composed of two layers with different properties have gained lots of attention. In the present study, polycaprolactone/gelatin (PCL/Gel) scaffold was electrospun on a dense membrane composed of polyurethane and ethanolic extract of propolis (PU/EEP). The PU/EEP membrane was used as the top layer to protect the wound area from external contamination and dehydration, while the PCL/Gel scaffold was used as the sublayer to facilitate cells’ adhesion and proliferation. The bilayer wound dressing was investigated regarding its microstructure, mechanical properties, surface wettability, anti-bacterial activity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and its efficacy in the animal wound model and histopathological analyzes. Scanning electron micrographs exhibited uniform morphology and bead-free structure of the PCL/Gel scaffold with average fibers’ diameter of 237.3 ± 65.1 nm. Significant anti-bacterial activity was observed against Staphylococcal aureus (5.4 ± 0.3 mm), Escherichia coli (1.9 ± 0.4 mm) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (1.0 ± 0.2 mm) according to inhibition zone test. The bilayer wound dressing exhibited high hydrophilicity (51.1 ± 4.9°), biodegradability, and biocompatibility. The bilayer wound dressing could significantly accelerate the wound closure and collagen deposition in the Wistar rats’ skin wound model. Taking together, the PU/EEP-PCL/Gel bilayer wound dressing can be a potential candidate for biomedical applications due to remarkable mechanical properties, biocompatibility, antibacterial features, and wound healing activities.
Highlights
One-layer wound dressings cannot meet all the clinical needs due to their individual characteristics and shortcomings
The polyurethane and ethanolic extract of propolis (PU/ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP))-PCL/Gel bilayer wound dressing can be a potential candidate for biomedical applications due to remarkable mechanical properties, biocompatibility, antibacterial features, and wound healing activities
The characteristic bands of Gel were observed at approximately 1650 cm−1 and 1540 cm−1 wavelengths. 1540 cm−1 peak is related to coupling of N–H bending bond and C–N stretching bond
Summary
One-layer wound dressings cannot meet all the clinical needs due to their individual characteristics and shortcomings. The PU/EEP membrane was used as the top layer to protect the wound area from external contamination and dehydration, while the PCL/Gel scaffold was used as the sublayer to facilitate cells’ adhesion and proliferation. Recent studies have demonstrated high efficacy of PCL/Gel scaffolds for skin tissue engineering application[15,16] These scaffolds exhibit different weaknesses including poor mechanical properties, unsuitable water vapor transmission rate, and poor anti-bacterial properties. Propolis is a natural substance with high efficacy at anti-bacterial and pro-wound healing properties It is composed of plant exudates, beeswax, and the salivary secretions of bee[22]. PCL/Gel scaffold (sublayer) was electrospun on the PU/EEP membrane (top layer) to produce a bilayer wound dressing. The top layer was a membrane with dense structure and anti-bacterial properties to protect the wound from bacteria and external contaminants. The prepared bilayer wound dressing was investigated at morphological, structural, mechanical, antibacterial, and biological properties through in vitro and in vivo experiments
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