Natural cocktail of bioactive factors conjugated on nanofibrous dressing for improved wound healing

Abstract

Any interference in the timely and orderly progression through all the phases of healing process can turn a minor injury into a chronic wound. Most of the wound dressings available in the market are moderately effective and have not shown satisfactory improvement in healing. Along with the appropriate wound management, it is imperative for a dressing to facilitate the wound repair process too. In the present research, we hypothesize to improve the wound healing process by applying cost effective natural cocktail of various bioactive factors. Bovine colostrum contains high levels of immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, hormones and cytokines which play significant role in wound healing. Hence, multifunctional colostrum conjugated PCL-PEG based nanofibrous dressings were developed and analyzed for their physicochemical properties and cellular responses. The dressings were also evaluated for cell migration, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. In-vivo wound healing ability was validated on a rat wound model. Numerous growth factors present in the colostrum showed their role in stimulation of skin repair and regeneration by direct action on genetic material. Significantly less inflammation in colostrum treated wounds was observed due to anti-inflammatory properties of lactoferrin. Thus obtained results confirmed the suitability of these multifunctional colostrum conjugated nanofibrous dressings for improved wound healing.