Preliminary investigation of honey-doped electrospun scaffolds to delay wound closure

Manuka honey is an ancient remedy to improve wound healing; however, an effective delivery system is needed to facilitate extended release of honey into wounds. We developed an electrospun dermal regeneration template consisting of a poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffold embedded with 1%, 5%, 10%, or 20% manuka honey. In vitro studies demonstrated that honey PCL scaffolds were not toxic to macrophages, and they allowed for macrophage infiltration into the scaffolds. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a marker of angiogenesis, was released by macrophages cultured with scaffolds and macrophage/scaffold conditioned media promoted endothelial cell tube formation in an angiogenesis assay. In a full thickness murine wound model, the scaffolds prevented rapid wound contraction. In vivo, cells infiltrated the scaffolds by post-wounding day 7, but the honey scaffolds did not affect collagen deposition at that time. In summary, preliminary studies investigating the effect of honey on tissue repair show that scaffolds prevent rapid wound contraction, allow for cell infiltration, and promote angiogenesis. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B:2620-2628, 2019.