Evaluation of Chitosan-Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofiber Loaded with Injectable Platelet-Rich Fibrin as Promising Candidate...

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF) into electrospun chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers by assessing (1) swelling behavior after immersion in i-PRF, (2) potential interactions between components based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) profiles, and (3) initial in vitro cytocompatibility using human primary fibroblasts.

Chitosan-PVA nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning and trimmed into 5-mm discs. Specimens were immersed in 0.5 mL of i-PRF for six time points (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes), and swelling capacity was evaluated to determine the immersion time associated with the highest absorption. FTIR was performed to compare functional group profiles before and after i-PRF immersion. For cytocompatibility testing, 5-mm diameter nanofiber discs were soaked in 0.5-mL i-PRF for 10 minutes and placed into wells seeded with human primary fibroblasts (5 × 10³ cells/well). After 24, 48, and 72-hour incubation at 37°C in a CO₂ incubator, methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) reagent was added and incubated for an additional 4 hours. Absorbance was measured using a multimode microplate reader, and cell viability was calculated as the percentage relative to the control group.

The highest swelling was observed after 10 minutes of immersion (p < 0.05). FTIR spectra showed no additional peaks indicative of new chemical functional groups after immersion, suggesting that i-PRF incorporation occurred predominantly through physical interaction rather than formation of new covalent bonds. In the MTT assay, fibroblast viability in the i-PRF-immersed nanofiber group was comparable to the control (p < 0.05), indicating no detectable cytotoxic effect under the tested conditions.

Chitosan-PVA nanofibers demonstrated an ability to absorb i-PRF, exhibiting comparable FTIR functional groups following immersion. This finding indicates that the predominant interaction mechanism is of a physical nature. A 72-hour MTT assay indicated that there was acceptable initial cytocompatibility with human primary fibroblasts. The study concluded that the chitosan-PVA/i-PRF construct appears to be a promising preliminary scaffold, but further work is required on morphology, mechanics, degradation, release kinetics, wider cell responses, and in vivo performance before claims can be made about periodontal regeneration or clinical efficacy.