Artificial, Triple-Layered, Nanomembranous Wound Patch for Potential Diabetic Foot Ulcer Intervention

The present work aims to electrospin a triple layered wound patch for potential treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). The patch consisted of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as the skin contacting layer, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as the middle layer, and polycaprolactone (PCL) as the outermost layer, wherein the PVP layer was loaded in situ with an antibiotic (ciprofloxacin, CFX). Morphology and mechanical properties were investigated using SEM and texture analysis. Patch quality was studied with regards to wettability, adherence, water resistance, and moisture uptake of individual layers. SEM results confirmed the fibrous and membranous nature of layers with a nano-to-micro size range. Mechanical properties of the composite patch demonstrated a tensile strength of 12.8 ± 0.5 MPa, deformation energy of 54.35 ± 0.1 J/m³, and resilience of 17.8 ± 0.7%, which were superior compared to individual layers. Patch quality tests revealed that the PCL layer showed very low wettability, adherence, and moisture uptake compared to the PVP and PAA layers. In vitro drug release data revealed an increase in cumulative drug release with higher drug loading. The results above confirm the potential of a triple layered, tripolymeric, wound patch for DFU intervention.