Electrospun Quaternary Ammonium Salt-Loaded Nanofibrous Nanocomposites as Wound Dressings

Herein, PLA/TH/PEG electrospun nanofibers were fabricated by incorporating tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TH) salt at different ratios (3, 5, 7, and 9 wt %) into the poly-(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly-(ethylene glycol) (PEG) matrix. Thus, the potential use of PLA/PEG/TH nanofibers with enhanced properties as dermal wound dressings was evaluated. Cytotoxicity and wound healing assays using the fibroblast cell line (L929) were performed. An increase in TH content tended to reduce the wound healing rate, with decreases ranging from approximately 1.7% to 45% compared with PLA/PEG nanofibers. However, it was concluded that PLA/TH/PEG nanofibers did not cause toxic effects and even supported cell proliferation in the range of 113-123%. The produced PLA/TH/PEG nanofibers were identified as being suitable for dermal wound dressings. When TH was added, the beaded surface structure observed in the PLA/PEG nanofibers improved and the nanofiber diameters decreased. The PLA/TH9/PEG nanofibrous material exhibited the most homogeneous and smooth nanofiber morphology. Also, it had the lowest fiber diameter and the highest porosity (90%) according to the porosity test. Consequently, it is suggested that TH is suitable for use as an additive in biomedical applications owing to its nontoxic properties.