Equisetum arvenseand nano zinc oxide‐infused polycaprolactone scaffolds: A multifaceted approach for antibacterial, antioxidant, and hemocompatible wound dressing

Abstract

An appropriate skin tissue‐engineered scaffold can act promptly to combat microbial infection and preserve the wound throughout all phases of healing. To achieve sufficient healing, scaffolds should also promote cell proliferation and regeneration. Therefore, it has become essential to develop skin tissue engineering scaffolds that mimic the extracellular matrices of the skin, provide a high porosity scaffold structure, and act as an antimicrobial protection during wound healing. In this study, the polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun scaffold was modified with optimal amounts of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) and Equisetum arvense (EA) herbal extract for potential application as antibacterial and wound healing scaffolds. Full characterization was carried out for fabricated scaffolds before in‐vitro assessments. FTIR spectroscopy and SEM images verified the successful substitution of nanofibers with EA and ZnO. These substitutions increased the hydrophilicity compared to the PCL scaffold. According to the results, the PCL/ZnO/EA fabricated scaffold was hemocompatible and non‐cytotoxic, in addition to allowing proper cell attachment. Effective antibacterial efficiency against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria was also observed in this sample. Finally, the in vitro wound healing assay indicated that the addition of ZnO and EA improves the wound healing capacity of the scaffolds. The results indicate the potential of the developed scaffolds to prevent wound contamination and the complications of chronic infection.Highlights Optimal concentrations of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) and Equisetum arvense (EA) were incorporated into electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers for potential wound dressing applications. The fabricated nanofibrous wound dressings offer a multitude of structural features in biomaterials. PCL fibers enable the controlled release of both ZnO and EA. The fabricated scaffolds exhibit favorable antibacterial, and antioxidant properties while maintaining biocompatibility and hemocompatibility.