Herbal Plant Leaf Extracts Immobilized PCL Nanofibrous Mats as Skin-Inspired Anti-infection Wound Healing Material

In this study, an attempt has been made using PCL nanofibrous mats as support material for immobilizing a couple of medicinal plants Achyranthes aspera (AS) and Datura metel (DM) leaf extract and screen the in vitro antimicrobial and in vivo wound healing properties with the aim to develop these nanofibrous mats as a biocompatible antimicrobial wound dressing material. The Achyranthes aspera leaf extract immobilized electrospun PCL nanofibrous mat (PCL-AS) and Datura metel leaf extract immobilized electrospun PCL nanofibrous mat (PCL-DM) were characterized by SEM, XRD, and EDAX. The morphology, porosity, swelling, and weight loss percentage of the electrospun PCL, PCL-AS, and PCL-DM nanofibrous mats have been investigated. The antibacterial activity of both PCL-AS and PCL-DM nanofibrous mats show better inhibition against some bacterial strains. The cytotoxicity of the prepared PCL-AS and PCL-DM mats show very low toxicity to the vero cells. The in vivo wound healing activity was performed in rats by the treatment of wounds with PCL-AS and PCL-DM nanofibrous mats and showed that the PCL-AS and PCL-DM nanofibrous mats heal the wounds completely. The histopathological results of the skin recovered from wounds treated by PCL-AS and PCL-DM nanofibrous mats confirm the formation of skin tissues within 9 days. The results of the work show that the nanofibrous mats act as an enhancer of wound healing by treating the surfaces that contain pathogenic microorganisms especially in hospital environment. Lay Summary Traditional medicinal plants are considered to be an influential source of new and wide range of natural substances to treat chronic and some infectious diseases with their potential therapeutic effects. Though the medicinal plants are beneficial to treat wounds and infections caused by some bacteria, they may have poor contact with wounds if it is used as bare extract. Therefore the medicinal plant extracts have to be facilitated via a support material. Electrospun PCL nanofibrous mats used as a support material for immobilizing two medicinal plant leaf extract and monitor the in vitro antimicrobial and in vivo wound healing properties. Therefore, the results of this study shows that the developed nanofibrous mats have ability as a biocompatible antimicrobial wound dressing material.

Automated summary

This study used PCL nanofibrous mats to immobilize medicinal plant leaf extracts, showing their antimicrobial activity, low cytotoxicity, and wound healing effects in rats. The nanofibrous mats could serve as a biocompatible antimicrobial wound dressing material.