Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes with Essential Oils for Wound Dressing Applications

Abstract

To develop bioactive and interactive wound-dressing materials based on natural products, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibrous membranes containing plant-derived essential oils were fabricated and their potential applications for wound dressing were examined. Since essential oils, particularly palmarosa oil and phytoncide oil, possess natural antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties and are ecofriendly, they were chosen as bioactive agents to be incorporated into the nanofiber matrix. Antimicrobial efficacy, air/moisture vapor transport, and water uptake properties of the composite membranes were assessed to find suitable processing conditions for effective wound care. Palmarosa oil or phytoncide oil was incorporated into the core of PVA nanofibers via emulsion electrospinning. The PVA-based composite nanofibrous membranes were heat-treated to increase their stability in aqueous environments. Qualitative and quantitative antimicrobial assessments showed that the membranes containing palmarosa oil possessed superior antimicrobial effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans over the membranes containing phytoncide oil. Air/moisture vapor transport and water uptake properties were assessed for the PVA-based composite membranes having two levels of web area density to find suitable conditions for creating an optimal wound-healing environment. The composite nanofibrous membranes, which had a web area density of 3 g/m2, provided reasonable levels of gas and moisture vapor permeability for effective wound care and possessed water uptake ability to allow exudate absorption. These results demonstrate that the electrospun core/sheath structured PVA nanofibrous membranes containing palmarosa oil have high potential as bioactive wound-dressing materials.