Fabrication and characterization of electrospun curcumin-loaded polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol nanofibers for enhanced wound healing

This study focused on the development of biomedicated electrospun nanofiber mats for preventing wound infections and accelerating wound healing. Polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers-loaded curcumin (Cur) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were generated by an electrospinning technique. The change in surface morphology of the electrospun nanofibers to porous surface after immersion was obtained by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The biological characteristics of the Cur-loaded PCL-PEG nanofiber mats such as cell viability, cell attachment, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and in vivo wound healing capability were examined. The blending of PEG with PCL resulted in the formation of pores on the nanofibers after immersion, which supports cell viability and proliferation. The mouse myoblast cell line C2C12 showed about 80% viability on the Cur-loaded PCL-PEG nanofiber mat. SEM images showed that the cells could extremely attach and spread out over the surface of the Cur-loaded PCL-PEG nanofiber mat. The inclusion of 0.5 wt% Cur (with respect to PCL) in both the PCL and PCL-PEG blended nanofiber mats inhibited excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) in RAW264.7 mouse macrophages and exhibited good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). In vivo wound healing showed that the treatment using Cur-loaded PCL-PEG nanofiber mat significantly increased the rate of wound closure (99%) on day 10 as compared that using PCL nanofiber mat (59%). These results suggest that the PCL nanofiber matrix containing Cur and PEG can facilitate wound healing with cell proliferation and anti-inflammatory properties.