Preparation and assessment of polylactic acid-curcumin nanofibrous wound dressing containing silver nanoparticles for...

This study aims to produce and evaluate nanofibrous wound dressings through the electrospinning method, utilizing polylactic acid (PLA), curcumin (Cur), and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). For this purpose, five types of wound dressings with PLA, PLA+Cur, PLA+Cur+ 1 %AgNPs, PLA+Cur+ 2 %AgNPs and PLA+Cur+ 3 %AgNPs were produced using the electrospinning method. Analysis of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopic observations indicated successful fabrication, with nanometer diameters achieved in all electrospun samples. Examination of water absorption of wound dressings revealed that over 40 h the electrospun samples had variable water absorption between 0 % and 0.25 %. The results of the curcumin release test over one week showed that the nanofibers with PLA+Cur+ 2 %AgNPs exhibited the lowest release rate, while those with PLA+Cur+ 3 %AgNPs showed the highest release. Assessment of mechanical properties revealed that the tensile strength of the nanofibers increased by adding curcumin to polylactic acid, while the addition of a high content of AgNPs led to a decrease in tensile strength. Also, the PLA+Cur dressing demonstrated 84.06 % and the PLA+Cur+ 3 %AgNPs dressing exhibited 99.12 % antibacterial properties. The cell culture test demonstrated that the incorporation of curcumin and AgNPs increasedboth the growth and proliferation, as well as the adhesion on the nanofibrous wound dressing. Thus, the PLA+Cur+ 1 %AgNPs nanofibrous scaffold, as a multipurpose dressing, presented considerable promise for wound healing and burn treatment.