Design and fabrication of electrospun Morinda citrifolia-based nanofibrous scaffold as skin wound dressing material: in vitro and in silico analysis

Abstract

Wound healing is an urgent problem that impacts quality of life, and the need for biomaterials suitable for the treatment of skin wound healing disease is increasing annually. Innovative biomaterials and treatments for skin abrasions are being relentlessly researched and established in order to improve treatment efficacy. Here, we describe a novel electrospun polymeric nanofibrous scaffold enriched with pharmaceutical bioactive materials extracted from Morinda citrifolia (MC), which demonstrated efficient skin wound healing therapy due to its excellent human skin keratinocyte proliferation and adhesion in in vitro analysis. Surface morphological analysis was used to reveal the nano-architectural structure of the electrospun scaffolds. The fabricated nanofibers displayed good antibacterial efficacy by creating an inhibitory zone for the pathogenic microbes studied. MC supported active healing due to the presence of pharmaceuticals associated with wound healing, as revealed by the results of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and the prediction of activity spectra for substances (PASS) analysis. Since MC is a multi-potential therapeutic herbal plant, it was found that the linoleic acid, olelic acid, and diethyl phthalate present in the extract supported the wound healing proteins glycogen-synthase-kinase-3-β-protein and Protein Data Bank—1Q5K with binding energies of −4.6, −5.2, and −5.9 kcal mol−1, as established by the results of in silico analysis. Thus, by being hydrophilic in nature, targeting wound proteins, increasing the proliferation and adhesion of keratinocytes and combating pathogens, the nanofibrous scaffolds endowed with MC extract proved to be an effective therapeutic material for skin wound dressing applications.