An Investigation into the Efficacy of Low Temperature and UV Irradiated Citric Acid Crosslinked Zein/PEO Electrospun Membranes for Wound Healing Using Human Dermal Fibroblast Cells

Abstract

A key material capable of effective wound closure is a pertinent demand of the day. Citric acid (CA)‐based crosslinking involves pre‐crosslinking followed by post‐crosslinking at higher temperature. Unlike conventional higher temperature treatment, this piece of work discusses post‐crosslinking at low temperature or under UV irradiation of CAZein/Polyethylene oxide (PEO) blend membranes. A comparative analysis of the wound healing efficiency of both membranes was done. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) results showed that UV crosslinked CA Zein/PEO has a fast thermal degradation and the folded structure of the protein perturbed during UV crosslinking. More than 60 % of porosity and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of 1500–2000 g m−2 day−1 for both membranes could facilitate faster exudate absorption and gas exchange through the wound site. Thermally crosslinked CA Zein/PEO stimulated 67 % more collagen production within 2 days compared to control cells. Percentage of wound closure is also high for thermally crosslinked CA Zein/PEO compared to UV crosslinked CA Zein/PEO. Though cytotoxicity evaluation confirmed the non‐cytotoxicity of both membranes, thermally crosslinked membrane proved as a better candidate for wound care management.

Automatic in situ short-distance deposition of PLGA/PLLA composite nanofibrous membranes for personalized wound dressings

“…4g, the porosities of developed nanofibrous membranes all exceeded 60%, implying their outstanding exudate absorption and metabolic exchange capabilities. 42 In addition, we observed a tendency for the porosity to increase as the nanofiber diameter gradually decreased, which is consistent with other studies. 43 The hydrophilicity of fibrous membranes can promote adhesion and cell growth paraform-aldehyde fix solution; therefore, contact angle analysis was performed.…”