Abstract
Skin is a hierarchical and multi-cellular organ exposed to the external environment with a key protective and regulatory role. Wounds caused by disease and trauma can lead to a loss of function, which can be debilitating and even cause death. Accelerating the natural skin healing process and minimizing the risk of infection is a clinical challenge. Electrospinning is a key technology in the development of wound dressings and skin substitutes as it enables extracellular matrix-mimicking fibrous structures and delivery of bioactive materials. Honey is a promising biomaterial for use in skin tissue engineering applications and has antimicrobial properties and potential tissue regenerative properties. This preliminary study investigates a solution electrospun composite nanofibrous mesh based on polycaprolactone and a medical grade honey, SurgihoneyRO. The processing conditions were optimized and assessed by scanning electron microscopy to fabricate meshes with uniform fiber diameters and minimal presence of beads. The chemistry of the composite meshes was examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photon spectroscopy showing incorporation of honey into the polymer matrix. Meshes incorporating honey had lower mechanical properties due to lower polymer content but were more hydrophilic, resulting in an increase in swelling and an accelerated degradation profile. The biocompatibility of the meshes was assessed using human dermal fibroblasts and adipose-derived stem cells, which showed comparable or higher cell metabolic activity and viability for SurgihoneyRO-containing meshes compared to polycaprolactone only meshes. The meshes showed no antibacterial properties in a disk diffusion test due to a lack of hydrogen peroxide production and release. The developed polycaprolactone-honey nanofibrous meshes have potential for use in skin applications.
Highlights
The natural wound healing capacity of skin is a complex biological process to repair and regenerate the skin structure when an injury occurs [1,2,3,4]. This occurs through a sequence of integrated and overlapping events. This is comprised of hemostasis, inflammation, migration and proliferation, and maturation [1,4,5]
Topography was statistically and results are reported as mean ± standard deviation (SD)
The results show that the mean fiber diameter decreases by tent of PCL
Summary
The extracellular matrix (ECM), the biological scaffold of tissues and organs that defines the cellular 3D environment, interacts with cells to mediate proliferation, migration, and differentiation [6,7,8,9,10] This interactive relationship between cells, biomolecules (e.g., growth factors), and the ECM components induces the tissue to recover integrity after a wound [3,4]. When this sequence is negatively impacted due to disease (e.g., diabetes), burns, and trauma, this can result in the healing process not occurring in a timely manner. Chronic wounds can develop and the natural healing process no longer functions correctly [11,12]
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