Bi-Layered Polymer Carriers with Surface Modification by Electrospinning for Potential Wound Care Applications

Abstract

Polymeric wound dressings with advanced properties are highly preferred formulations to promote the tissue healing process in wound care. In this study, a combinational technique was investigated for the fabrication of bi-layered carriers from a blend of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA). The bi-layered carriers were prepared by solvent casting in combination with two surface modification approaches: electrospinning or three-dimensional (3D) printing. The bi-layered carriers were characterized and evaluated in terms of physical, physicochemical, adhesive properties and for the safety and biological cell behavior. In addition, an initial inkjet printing trial for the incorporation of bioactive substances for drug delivery purposes was performed. The solvent cast (SC) film served as a robust base layer. The bi-layered carriers with electrospun nanofibers (NFs) as the surface layer showed improved physical durability and decreased adhesiveness compared to the SC film and bi-layered carriers with patterned 3D printed layer. Thus, these bi-layered carriers presented favorable properties for dermal use with minimal tissue damage. In addition, electrospun NFs on SC films (bi-layered SC/NF carrier) provided the best physical structure for the cell adhesion and proliferation as the highest cell viability was measured compared to the SC film and the carrier with patterned 3D printed layer (bi-layered SC/3D carrier). The surface properties of the bi-layered carriers with electrospun NFs showed great potential to be utilized in advanced technical approach with inkjet printing for the fabrication of bioactive wound dressings.Pharmaceutics 2019, 11, 678 2 of 21 ingredients and/or active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, vitamins and growth factors, are continuously being developed [3,5].Wound dressings are produced by different methods depending on the desired structure and the materials used. In the current study, three commonly applied methods were exploited: solvent casting, extrusion-type three-dimensional (3D) printing and electrospinning. In solvent casting, polymeric films are prepared from drying of viscous solutions of polymer(s) with/without additives and active substances in a uniformly distributed layer [6,7]. Due to the simplicity of this method, solvent casting can be time-consuming, and the properties and stability of the films are dependent on the materials used [6,7]. Nevertheless, solvent cast (SC) polymer films are structurally more robust, and highly suitable to be exploited as base layer in multi-layered formulations.Electrospinning is a versatile technology for the fabrication of polymeric fibers with good diffusion characteristics and high surface area to volume ratio, which are beneficial for wound care applications to hinder bleeding, absorb excessive wound fluid and promote tissue regeneration [4,8,9]. The stability, reproducibility and production yield of the electrospinning process is highly dependent on the compatibility of the material...

Hybrid Bilayer PLA/Chitosan Nanofibrous Scaffolds Doped with ZnO, Fe3O4, and Au Nanoparticles with Bioactive Properties for Skin Tissue Engineering

“…Until now, different types of biopolymers were used to produce such biomaterials. Nevertheless, obtaining continuous and homogenous NFs is a problematic issue using pure protein solutions since numerous parameters affect the production process [2,4]. This can be overcome by preparing blends with other polymers, such as FDA-approved poly (lactic acid) (PLA) or poly (caprolactone) (PCL).…”

“…For this purpose, various poly (saccharides) were used. Over the last few years, it has been also shown that one of the important parameters is nanomaterials characteristics is fibers alignment [4,5]. A right choice of the raw polymer, solvent, and potential enables the fabrication of a product with a designed and ordered morphology.…”

“…It has been proven that fibers with the diameters in the range between 250 and 300 nm promote human dermal fibroblasts better comparing to fibers of 1 µm. Spatial arrangements of nanosized fibers can induce integrin β1 signaling pathway leading to other cellular responses crucial in the healing process [4,5]. Nanofibers separate from a biomimical architecture provide nutrients delivery and very high surface area which contributes to cells adhesion and attachment.…”

“…The morphology of nanofibrous materials gives also possibility of drugs incorporation which may promote healing process, prevent bacterial infections or increase vascular perfusion. Another way to upgrade NFs it to modify them with growth factors and enzymes [4,5,13].…”

Recent Development of Electrospinning for Drug Delivery

“…The bi-layered carriers presented favorable properties for dermal use with minimal tissue damage. In addition, electrospun NFs on SC films (bi-layered SC/NF carrier) provided the best physical structure for cell adhesion, and proliferation as the highest cell viability was measured compared to the SC film and the carrier with a patterned 3D printed layer (bi-layered SC/3D carrier) [1].…”