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Updated: Oct 27, 2026
Development of a Benchtop Model for Evaluating the Compatibility of Wound Dressing Materials with Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Systems
Published on: May 2, 2025
Development of pH-Responsive Curcumin-Loaded nanofiber composites with AI-Assisted color recognition for wound
Hua-Wei Chen1, Yu-Lin Kuo2, Phuong-Tran Quach-Tran1
1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Ilan University, Yilan 260, Taiwan.
Abstract:
A novel pH-responsive curcumin-loaded nanofiber composite with artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted color recognition for therapeutic delivery and intelligent visual monitoring was developed for application in smart wound dressings. Smart wound dressings were developed by integrating curcumin electrospray microparticles (Cur/MPs) and polycaprolactone/chitosan (PCL/CS) nanofibers using a dual-process strategy involving electrospray and electrospinning by the Taguchi method. Zein was the biocompatible carrier to enhance curcumin stability and regulate its sustained release. The curcumin electrospray microparticles@polycaprolactone/chitosan (Cur/MPs@PCL/CS) nanofiber composites exhibited tunable hydrophilicity, over 90% porosity, good cell viability with 125.1 ± 2.0%, and visible inhibition of Escherichia coli growth under the tested plate-diffusion conditions, indicating the suitability of these composites for biomedical dressings. Curcumin release followed first-order kinetics with dual-stage release, prolonging bioactivity. The visible pH-dependent color change of curcumin suggests potential for pH-responsive wound monitoring, and AI-assisted image classification may reduce subjective interpretation under controlled imaging conditions. The VISDEEP-C2 model (batch = 5, epochs = 100, learning rate = 10-4), optimized via Taguchi design, achieved an initial accuracy of 91.03% and rose to 99.28% after the dataset was expanded to 1,360 images. The synergistic integration of intelligent sensing, controlled drug release, and antimicrobial functionality positions Cur/MPs@PCL/CS as a promising next-generation smart wound-care material. This intelligent, biocompatible nanocomposite platform contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by promoting sustainable biomedical materials and AI-driven healthcare innovation.