Fusidic Acid and Lidocaine-Loaded Electrospun Nanofibers as a Dressing for Accelerated Healing of Infected Wounds

Wound treatment is a significant health burden in any healthcare system, which requires proper management to minimize pain and prevent bacterial infections that can complicate the wound healing process.

There is a need to develop innovative therapies to accelerate wound healing cost-effectively. Herein, two polymer-based nanofibrous systems were developed using poly-lactic-co-glycolic-acid (PLGA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) loaded with a combination of an antibiotic (Fusidic acid, FA) and a local anesthetic (Lidocaine, LDC) via electrospinning technique for an expedited healing process by preventing bacterial infections while reducing the pain sensation.

The fabricated nanofibers showed an excellent morphology with an average fiber diameter of 556 ± 71 nm and 291 ± 87 nm for the dual drug-loaded PLGA/PVP and PVP nanofibers, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and drug loading (DL) studies revealed that PLGA/PVP loaded with FA and LDC exhibited EE% of 92% and 75%, respectively, while the DL was measured at 40 ± 8 µg/mg for FA and 32 ± 7 µg/mg for LDC. Furthermore, both drugs were fully released from the nanofibers within 48 hours. In contrast, FA/LDC-loaded PVP nanofibers exhibited EE% of 100% for FA and 84% for LDC; DL was measured at 85 ± 3 µg/mg for FA and 70 ± 3 µg/mg for LDC, while both drugs were completely released within 24 hours. The in vitro cytotoxicity study demonstrated a safe concentration of FA and LDC at ≤ 125 μg/mL. The prepared nanofibers were tested in vivo in an S. aureus-infected wound mice model to assess their efficacy, and the results showed that the FA/LDC-PVP had a faster wound closure and the lowest bacterial counts compared to other groups.

These findings showed the potential application of the fabricated dual drug-loaded nanofibers as a wound-healing plaster against infected acute wounds.