Antimicrobial Nitric Oxide-Releasing Electrospun Dressings for Wound Healing Applications.

Man Li,Stephen B Kaye,Robert C Deller,Kyle G Doherty,Rachel L Williams,Jenny Aveyard,Keli N Kolegraff,Raechelle A D’Sa

doi:10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00056

Man Li, Stephen B Kaye + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00056

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Abstract

Nonhealing and chronic wounds represent a major problem for the quality of life of patients and have cost implications for healthcare systems. The pathophysiological mechanisms that prevent wound healing are usually multifactorial and relate to patient overall health and nutrition, vascularity of the wound bed, and coexisting infection/colonization. Bacterial infections are one of the predominant issues that can stall a wound, causing it to become chronic. Successful wound healing often depends on weeks or months of antimicrobial therapy, but this is problematic given the rise in multidrug-resistant bacteria. As such, alternatives to antibiotics are desperately needed to aid the healing of chronic, and even acutely infected wounds. Nitric oxide (NO) kills bacteria through a variety of mechanisms, and thus, bacteria have shown no tendency to develop resistance to NO as a therapeutic agent and therefore can be a good alternative to antibiotic therapy. In this paper, we report on the development of NO-releasing electrospun membranes fabricated from polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin blends and optimized to reduce bacterial infection. The NO payload in the membranes was directly related to the number of amines (and hence the amount of gelatin) in the blend. Higher NO payloads corresponded with a higher degree of antimicrobial efficacy. No cytotoxicity was observed for electrospun membranes, and an in vitro wound closure assay demonstrated closure within 16 h. The results presented here clearly indicate that these NO-releasing electrospun membranes hold significant promise as wound dressings due to their antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility.

Highlights

Chronic nonhealing wounds represent a substantial global problem for the quality of life of patients and treatment options for clinicians and healthcare workers
In the UK alone, it is estimated that 3.8 million patients are undergoing treatment by the National Health Service (NHS) and the number of chronic wounds is rising at a rate of 12% per year.[1]
We report on the fabrication and the antimicrobial efficacy of five formulations of electrospun PCL/G membranes

Summary

Introduction

Chronic nonhealing wounds represent a substantial global problem for the quality of life of patients and treatment options for clinicians and healthcare workers. In the UK alone, it is estimated that 3.8 million patients are undergoing treatment by the National Health Service (NHS) and the number of chronic wounds is rising at a rate of 12% per year.[1] Wound management costs the NHS £8.3 billion, which can be broken down into £2.7 billion for healed wounds and £5.6 billion for unhealed wounds. Depending on the severity of the wound, local wound care can involve cleaning with saline and application of special dressings, bandages, or gauze. While these dressings can provide the necessary barrier protection from external factors such as dirt and microorganisms, they are unable to fight existing infections or actively facilitate in wound healing. There is an unmet clinical need for a wound dressing that can treat and reduce the risk of infection and promote cellular regeneration, thereby kick-starting the wound healing process for chronic wounds

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