Investigating the use of curcumin-loaded electrospun filaments for soft tissue repair applications

Abstract

Electrospun filaments represent a new generation of medical textiles with promising applications in soft tissue repair. A potential strategy to improve their design is to combine them with bioactive molecules. Curcumin, a natural compound found in turmeric, is particularly attractive for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. However, investigating the range of relevant doses of curcumin in materials designed for tissue regeneration has remained limited. In this paper, a wide range of curcumin concentrations was explored and the potential of the resulting materials for soft tissue repair applications was assessed. Polydioxanone (PDO) filaments were prepared with various amounts of curcumin: 0%, 0.001%, 0.01%, 0.1%, 1%, and 10% (weight to weight ratio). The results from the present study showed that, at low doses (≤0.1%), the addition of curcumin has no influence on the spinning process or on the physicochemical properties of the filaments, whereas higher doses lead to smaller fiber diameters and improved mechanical properties. Moreover, filaments with 0.001% and 0.01% curcumin stimulate the metabolic activity and proliferation of normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) compared with the no-filament control. However, this stimulation is not significant when compared to the control filaments (0%). Highly dosed filaments induce either the inhibition of proliferation (with 1%) or cell apoptosis (with 10%) as a result of the concentrations of curcumin found in the medium (9 and 32 μM, respectively), which are near or above the known toxicity threshold of curcumin (~10 μM). Moreover, filaments with 10% curcumin increase the catalase activity and glutathione content in NHDFs, indicating an increased production of reactive oxygen species resulting from the large concentration of curcumin. Overall, this study suggested that PDO electrospun filaments loaded with low amounts of curcumin are more promising compared with higher concentrations for stimulating tissue repair. This study also highlighted the need to explore lower concentrations when using polymers as PDO, such as those with polycaprolactone and other degradable polyesters.

Biofunctionalization of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Biocomposites for Biomedical Applications

“…In this field, natural fibers have attracted a research interest towards potential applications [23]. Medical textiles can be used from a simple gauze for wound dressings to sutures, reconstruction and repair of tissues and bones [24]. The materials for medical purposes require very specific characteristics, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, functionability, bioresorbability, sterilizability, manufacturability, as well as mechanical properties [9].…”

Recent advances on herb‐derived constituents‐incorporated wound‐dressing materials: A review

“…125 This result was supported by the study conducted by Mouthuy. 126 The electrospun polydioxanone containing curcumin was prepared, and possibility of using the material for soft-tissue repair applications was assessed.…”

Electrospinning process parameters optimization for biofunctional curcumin/gelatin nanofibers

“…Gelatin (a mixture of proteins and peptides) is a natural polymer which is biocompatible, nontoxic and biodegradable, and hence is considered as a fair and safe choice when selecting fiber material for dressing problematic wounds such as diabetic chronic ulcers. The light weight ultrathin nanofibers can serve as mechanical support during wound dressings due to their significant tensile strength as compared to conventional fibers (having diameters in the range of over 100 nm) and also act as barriers to cover the wound [30][31][32][33]. Gelatin is also known for its excellent water absorption and fluid affinity, which makes it a good choice to support moist wound healing.…”

“…More curcumin would be expected to release with a specific rate from higher concentrations, such as 17% curcumin loaded poly (εcaprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers than the lower concentrations, such as 3% curcumin loaded PCL nanofibers, after 12 h (as shown in figure 2(b)) [30]. Using PCL-curcumin solutions, biofunctional electrospun nanofibers were prepared [30][31][32][33]68]. Hoang et al [68] fabricated curcumin loaded PCL/chitosan nonwoven mats (for wound dressings) using formic acid and acetone together as solvents while electrospinning nanofibers.…”