Abstract
In this study, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) and dill (Anethum graveolens L.) essential oils (EOs) were encapsulated into collagen hydrolysates extracted from bovine tendons and rabbit skins, both mixed with chitosan (CS) by using the coaxial electrospinning technique for potential wound dressing applications. The morphology and chemical composition of the electrospun nanofibers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The antimicrobial activity of the dill EO and lemon EO, as well as the electrospun samples loaded with essential oils was determined by disk diffusion assay against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, and Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028 bacterial strains; Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Candida glabrata ATCC 90028 yeast strains; and Aspergillus brasiliensis ATCC 9642 fungal strain. In vivo biocompatibility testing of the collagen hydrolysate-chitosan/essential oil electrospun nanofibers was based on the determination of the hematological, biochemical, and immunological profile and the evaluation of the influence produced on the oxidative stress in white Swiss mice. The synergetic effect of dill and lemon balm EOs can improve the antimicrobial activity of collagen hydrolysate-chitosan nanofibers against the most important bacterial strains. The in vivo test results suggested a good biocompatibility of electrospun samples based on collagen hydrolysate extracted from bovine tendons or rabbit skin mixed with chitosan and containing dill and/or lemon balm essential oils as encapsulated bioactive compounds.
Highlights
Wound dressing materials are produced for wound healing process
It was found that the amounts of dill essential oils (EOs) and lemon balm EO encapsulated into collagen hydrolysate-chitosan nanofibers were in the range of 50 ± 1.2 mg mL−1 and 130 ± 9.1 mg mL−1, respectively (Figure 2)
The characterization of new composite nanofibers by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and attenuate total reflectance (ATR)-FTIR showed that the thin nanofibers of 60–120 nm average size were fabricated and the interaction of amino and hydroxyl groups from chitosan with carboxylic groups from collagen was suggested by the absence of amide II (1545 cm−1 ) band associated with the secondary structure in chitosan from all nanospun nanofibers
Summary
Wound dressing materials are produced for wound healing process. The electrospinning process can be used to fabricate porous nanofibers and introduce the desired components to provide bioactive properties to wound dressings [16]. Pharmaceutics 2021, 13, 1939 beta-estradiol, a therapeutic agent, was introduced to a polyurethane-dextran composite nanofibrous wound dressing [3]. In another paper [7], gentamicin was loaded into by-layer scaffold based on polyvinylpyrrolidone gelatin and cellulose acetate. The disadvantage of these traditional antimicrobial agents is related to antibiotic resistance. The alternative to topical antimicrobial agents is to develop new wound healing materials based on alginate [17], chitosan [6,18], collagen [19], nanocellulose [20], inorganic antimicrobial agents such as zinc oxide [5,21], and plant extracts [22]
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