4 research outputs found
Electrosprayed Chitin Nanofibril/Electrospun Polyhydroxyalkanoate Fiber Mesh as Functional Nonwoven for Skin Application
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a family of bio-based polyesters that have found different biomedical applications. Chitin and lignin, byproducts of fishery and plant biomass, show antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity on the nanoscale. Due to their polarities, chitin nanofibril (CN) and nanolignin (NL) can be assembled into micro-complexes, which can be loaded with bioactive factors, such as the glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) and CN-NL/GA (CLA) complexes, and can be used to decorate polymer surfaces. This study aims to develop completely bio-based and bioactive meshes intended for wound healing. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxydecanoate), P(3HB)/P(3HO-co-3HD) was used to produce films and fiber meshes, to be surface-modified via electrospraying of CN or CLA to reach a uniform distribution. P(3HB)/P(3HO-co-3HD) fibers with desirable size and morphology were successfully prepared and functionalized with CN and CLA using electrospinning and tested in vitro with human keratinocytes. The presence of CN and CLA improved the indirect antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of the electrospun fiber meshes by downregulating the expression of the most important pro-inflammatory cytokines and upregulating human defensin 2 expression. This natural and eco-sustainable mesh is promising in wound healing applications
Silver Nanoparticle-Coated Polyhydroxyalkanoate Based Electrospun Fibers for Wound Dressing Applications
Wound dressings are high performance and high value products which can improve the regeneration of damaged skin. In these products, bioresorption and biocompatibility play a key role. The aim of this study is to provide progress in this area via nanofabrication and antimicrobial natural materials. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a bio-based family of polymers that possess high biocompatibility and skin regenerative properties. In this study, a blend of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)) and poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxy decanoate) (P(3HO-co-3HD)) was electrospun into P(3HB))/P(3HO-co-3HD) nanofibers to obtain materials with a high surface area and good handling performance. The nanofibers were then modified with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) via the dip-coating method. The silver-containing nanofiber meshes showed good cytocompatibility and interesting immunomodulatory properties in vitro, together with the capability of stimulating the human beta defensin 2 and cytokeratin expression in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells), which makes them promising materials for wound dressing applications
Orthogonally “Clickable” Biodegradable Nanofibers: Tailoring Biomaterials for Specific Protein Immobilization
Diels–Alder “Clickable” Biodegradable Nanofibers: Benign Tailoring of Scaffolds for Biomolecular Immobilization and Cell Growth
Biodegradable polymeric
nanofibers have emerged as promising candidates
for several biomedical applications such as tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine. Many of these applications require modification
of these nanofibers with small ligands or biomolecules such as peptides
and other growth factors, which necessitates functionalization of
these materials in mild and benign fashion. This study reports the
design, synthesis, and functionalization of such nanofibers and evaluates
their application as a cell culture scaffold. Polylactide based copolymers
containing furan groups and triethylene glycol (TEG) units as side
chains were synthesized using organocatalyzed ring opening polymerization.
The furan moiety, an electron rich diene, provides “clickable”
handles required for modification of nanofibers since they undergo
facile cycloaddition reactions with maleimide-containing small molecules
and ligands. The TEG units provide these fibers with hydrophilicity,
enhanced biodegradability, and antibiofouling characteristics to minimize
nonspecific adsorption. A series of copolymers with varying amounts
of TEG units in their side chains were evaluated for fiber formation
and antibiofouling characteristics to reveal that an incorporation
of 7.5 mol % TEG-based monomer was optimal for nanofibers containing
20 mol % furan units. Facile functionalization of these nanofibers
in a selective manner was demonstrated through attachment of a dienophile
containing fluorophore, namely, fluorescein maleimide. To show efficient
ligand-mediated bioconjugation, nanofibers were functionalized with
a maleimide appended biotin, which enabled efficient attachment of
the protein, Streptavidin. Importantly, the crucial role played by
the TEG-based side chains was evident due to lack of any nonspecific
attachment of protein to these nanofibers in the absence of biotin
ligand. Furthermore, these nanofibers were conjugated with a cell
adhesive cyclic peptide, cRGDfK-maleimide, at room temperature without
the need of any additional catalyst. Importantly, comparison of the
cell attachment onto nanofibers with and without the peptide demonstrated
that fibers appended with the peptides promoted cells to spread nicely
and protrude actin filaments for enhanced attachment to the support,
whereas the cells on nonfunctionalized nanofibers showed a rounded
up morphology with limited cellular spreading