Electrospun PEDOT-Based Meshes for Skin Regeneration

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Conductive polymers offer potential for wound healing by delivering electrical stimuli to promote cell growth.
• Electrospinning is a versatile technique for creating skin-like scaffolds that manage wound environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize conductive, biodegradable chitosan/gelatin/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) electrospun meshes.
• To evaluate the potential of these meshes as electrostimulated wound dressings for skin tissue engineering.

Main Methods:

• In situ chemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with hyaluronic acid-doping.
• Production of chitosan (CS)/gelatin (GEL)/PEDOT electrospun meshes via electrospinning.
• Crosslinking of meshes with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether and investigation of physicochemical and mechanical properties.

Main Results:

• Incorporation of PEDOT increased solution conductivity, density, and fiber diameter, affecting mesh porosity, water uptake, and biodegradability.
• Maintained appropriate water vapor permeation values.
• CS/GEL/PEDOT meshes exhibited properties suitable for electrostimulated wound dressings.

Conclusions:

• The developed CS/GEL/PEDOT electrospun nanofibrous meshes show significant potential for electrostimulated wound dressings.
• Their structural similarity to the extracellular matrix and cell-binding properties support skin tissue engineering applications.