Biodegradable core-shell electrospun nanofibers based on PLA and γ-PGA for wound healing

Abstract

The repair process in wound healing is vital and complicated, which brings great challenge to researchers. Tissue engineering scaffolds provide a realizable approach for wound repair. In this study, nanofibers with Poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) as the core and Polylactic acid (PLA) as the shell materials were prepared via coaxial electrospinning. The effect of flow rate on the structure and diameter of the core-shell nanofibers was investigated. The microstructure and morphology of the core-shell nanofibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In laser scanning confocal microscopy experiments (LSCM), core-shell nanofibers loaded with rhodamine and coumarin-6 were excited with red and green light respectively to further investigate the structure of core-shell nanofibers. The hydrophobicity and degradation of core-shell nanofibers were studied by water contact angle test and degradation performance test experiments. The in vitro cell culture study showed favorable biocompatibility of nanofibers. The in vivo animal experiment showed that PLA/γ-PGA core-shell nanofiber membrane was conducive to wound repair, where more than 90% re-epithelialization was observed. It suggested a promising and dependable material for tissue engineering and wound healing.