In this research, gelatin and poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS), which have demonstrated significantly developed wound healing process, were used to fabricate biodegradable and bioabsorbable membranes with controlled release of ciprofloxacin (CIP) as a powerful antibiotic. This was achieved by taking advantage of electrospinning technique to accelerate the wound healing as an extracellular matrix-liked composite membrane. We attempted to carefully investigate the impact of variable ratio of sebacic acid and glycerol as components of PGS and identified CIP-loaded cross-linked membrane (CIP-M 11 ) as an optimum membrane, although a significant change in structural properties of samples was not observed. The physicochemical properties of drug-loaded electrospun wound cover were evaluated by several characterization tests.Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results confirmed that CIP-embedded gelatin/PGS membrane was successfully synthesized and cross-linked properly. The CIP-M 11 sample showed a constant and uniform degradation rate with the capacity of durable drug release over the time period. The excellent antibacterial activity of CIP decreased the population of both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and prevented bacterial infections. The cytocompatibility of membranes was completely proven by culturing L929 fibroblast cells on the prepared membranes. Finally, obtained results exhibit that the membranes should be considered as the promising wound dressing.

Background:The most important risk that threatens the skin wounds is infections. Therefore, fabrication of a membrane as a wound dressing with the ability of antibiotic delivery in a proper delivery rate is especially important.Materials and Methods:Poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) was prepared from sebacic acid and glycerol with 1:1 ratio; then, it was added to gelatin in the 1:3 ratio and was dissolved in 80% (v/v) acetic acid, and finally, ciprofloxacin was added in 10% (w/v) of polymer solution. The gelatin/PGS membrane was fabricated using an electrospinning method. The membrane was cross-linked using ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiim (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) in different time periods to achieve a proper drug release rate. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was being used to manifest the peaks of polymers and drug in the membrane. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the morphology, fibers diameter, pore size, and porosity before and after crosslinking process. Ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectrophotometry was used to show the ciprofloxacin release from the cross-linked membrane.Results:FTIR analysis showed the characteristic peaks of gelatin, PGS, and ciprofloxacin without any added peaks after the crosslinking process. SEM images revealed that nanofibers’ size increased during the crosslinking process and porosity was higher than 80% before and after crosslinking process. UV-visible spectrophotometry showed the proper rate of ciprofloxacin release occurred from cross-linked membrane that remaining in EDC/NHS ethanol solution for 120 min.Conclusion:The obtained results suggest that this recently developed gelatin/PGS membrane with controlled release of ciprofloxacin could be a promising biodegradable membrane for wound dressing.