Kaolin-Loaded Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol Electrospun Scaffold As a Wound Dressing Material: In Vitro and in Vivo Studies Publisher Pubmed



Salehi M^{1, 2} ; Farzamfar S³ ; Ehterami A⁴ ; Paknejad Z^{5, 6} ; Bastami F^{7, 8} ; Shirian S^{9, 10} ; Vahedi H¹¹ ; Koehkonan GS¹² ; Goodarzi A¹³
Source: Journal of Wound Care Published:2020

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the application of a fabricated dressing containing kaolin for skin regeneration in a rat model of excisional wounds. Method: In the present study, kaolin was loaded into electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan polymer blend to develop a composite nanofibrous dressing. To make the yarns, kaolin with weight ratio of 5% was added to PVA/chitosan polymer blend and subsequently formed into nanofibres using the electrospinning method. Scaffolds were evaluated for to their microstructure, mechanical properties, surface wettability, water vapour transmission rate, water-uptake capacity, blood uptake capacity, blood compatibility, microbial penetration test, the number of colonies, and cellular response with the L929 cell line. Rats with full-thickness excisional wounds were treated with kaolin-containing and kaolin-free dressings. Results: The study showed that rats treated with the kaolin-incorporated mats demonstrated a significant closure to nearly 97.62±4.81% after 14 days compared with PVA/chitosan and the sterile gauze, which showed 86.15±8.11% and 78.50±4.22% of wound closure, respectively. The histopathological studies showed that in the PVA/chitosan/kaolin group, dense and regular collagen fibres were formed, while wounds treated with sterile gauze or PVA/chitosan scaffolds had random and loose collagen fibres. Conclusion: Our results show the potential applicability of PVA/chitosan/kaolin scaffolds as a wound care material. Declaration of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest. © 2018 MA Healthcare ltd