Silk fibroin/polycaprolactone nanofibrous membranes loaded with natural Manuka honey for potential wound healing

Abstract

AbstractAntibacterial wound dressing, an effective barrier between the wound and the foreign environment, has the ability to inhibit and even kill the bacteria around the wound so that it can accelerate the wound healing. However, the loaded antibacterial agents of antibiotics and metal ions on wound dressings caused the new problems of drug resistance and toxicity. To develop a novel wound dressing with the natural antibacterial property agent, here, natural Manuka honey (MH), silk fibroin (SF), and polycaprolactone (PCL) were mixed to prepare nanofibrous membranes by electrospinning. The SEM observation showed the good microscopic morphology of SF/PCL/MH nanofibrous membranes that the fibers were even and smooth. With the addition of MH, the membranes gained the accepted stress and the excellent flexibility to adapt to wound contour. In addition, their hydrophilic property was beneficial to cell adhesion and proliferation. Most importantly, SF/PCL/MH nanofibrous membranes exhibited excellent sustained release effect and antibacterial properties. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans reached 99.88%, 99.70%, and 98.95%, respectively when 75% natural antimicrobial agent MH was loaded. Moreover, SF/PCL/MH membranes showed good cytocompatibility. These results indicated the fabricated SF/PCL/MH nanofibrous membranes are a kind of novel dressing with good antimicrobial property.