Abstract
In the present study, wound healing ferroelectric membranes doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles were fabricated from vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer and polyvinylpyrrolidone using the electrospinning technique. Five different ratios of vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene to polyvinylpyrrolidone were used to control the properties of the membranes at a constant zinc oxide nanoparticle content. It was found that an increase of polyvinylpyrrolidone content leads to a decrease of the spinning solution conductivity and viscosity, causing a decrease of the average fiber diameter and reducing their strength and elongation. By means of X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy, it was revealed that increased polyvinylpyrrolidone content leads to difficulty in crystallization of the vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer in the ferroelectric β-phase in membranes. Changing the ratio of vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer and polyvinylpyrrolidone with a constant content of zinc oxide nanoparticles is an effective approach to control the antibacterial properties of membranes towards Staphylococcus aureus. After carrying out in vivo experiments, we found that ferroelectric hybrid membranes, containing from five to ten mass percent of PVP, have the greatest wound-healing effect for the healing of purulent wounds.
Highlights
IntroductionHuman skin is the organ with the highest area acting as a natural barrier, which protects inner organs and tissues from various (physical, chemical, and biological) environmental factors
Human skin is the organ with the highest area acting as a natural barrier, which protects inner organs and tissues from various environmental factors
Taking into account the fact that the conductivity of the spinning solutions containing 40 wt% of PVP is ≈20% less compared to PVP-free solution, it may be concluded that under selected fabrication parameters the fiber diameter of VDF-TeFE/PVP/ZnO membranes is mainly affected by the spinning solution viscosity
Summary
Human skin is the organ with the highest area acting as a natural barrier, which protects inner organs and tissues from various (physical, chemical, and biological) environmental factors. Due to its protective function, the skin often undergoes injury and as a consequence untreated or incorrectly treated wounds may result in developing significant local or systemic diseases [1]. The strategy of skin injury treatment is based on the prevention or elimination of the infection combined with an accelerated healing process for maximum structural and functional recovery [3]. Semi-permeable electrospun polymer membranes are of great interest as multifunctional materials for wound healing [4,5,6]. Having the benefits of electrospun polymer membranes, such materials provide electrostimulation of the tissue healing process under mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic stimuli and they do not require external power sources, preventing the accumulation of electrolysis products in the tissue [10,11]
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