Astragalus Polysaccharides/PVA Nanofiber Membranes Containing Astragaloside IV-Loaded Liposomes and Their Potential Use for Wound Healing

Abstract

Delayed wound healing is a common and serious complication in diabetic patients, especially the slow healing of foot ulcers, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients and is also the most important risk factor for lower limb amputation. The multifunctional novel dressing prepared by loading the polymer nanofibers with anti-inflammatory and prohealing plant extracts can promote the wound repair of these ulcers by electrospinning technology. Liposomes are nanoparticles prepared from phospholipids and have been widely used as drug delivery systems. Liposomes can be combined with electrospun nanofibrous webs to facilitate local and sustained delivery of loaded bioactive substances. In this study, liposomes were prepared with astragaloside IV (AS) by employing a modified ethanol injection method and conducting the physical and chemical characterization (e.g., the particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency). Astragalus polysaccharides were extracted from Astragalus membranaceus. Subsequently, we prepared the electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/astragalus polysaccharide (APS)/astragaloside IV (AS) nanofibers. The morphology of the produced ASL/APS/PVA, APS/PVA, and PVA nanofibers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and it turns out that the addition of astragalus extract made the fiber diameter smaller and the fibers arranged neatly with no dripping. An induced diabetic rat model was built, and a diabetic ulcer model was built by total cortical resection to assess the prorepair ability of the prepared nanofibers. According to in vivo animal experiments, the nanofibrous membrane loaded with APS and ASL was reported to inhibit the occurrence of wound inflammation, enhance the deposition of collagen fibers ( P < 0.05 ) and the repair of regenerated epithelium ( P < 0.05 ), and effectively strengthen the wound healing of diabetic rats ( P < 0.05 ). In brief, PVA-loaded APS/ASL nanofibrous membranes refer to a prominent wound healing dressing material, which can effectively facilitate the healing of diabetic wounds, and they are demonstrated to be highly promising for application in diabetic wound dressings and tissue engineering.

Astragalus Polysaccharides Promote Wound Healing in Diabetic Rats by Upregulating PETN and Inhibiting the mTOR Pathway

“…Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) is the most significant natural active ingredient in Astragalus membranaceus and was shown to possess multiple pharmacological effects, including low toxicity, nonresidue, nontolerance, and few adverse events [5]. Emerging evidence shows that APS can reduce blood glucose and lipid and induce insulin resistance in diabetic rats [6][7][8]. In addition, APS has also been reported to relieve diabetic complications.…”

Electrospinning Nanofibers as a Dressing to Treat Diabetic Wounds

“…The matrix facilitates sustained release of molecules and the subsequent inhibition of wound inflammation. Moreover, the dressing helped create an environment for faster deposition of Col fibers and re-epithelialization in diabetic rat wounds [85].…”

Advances in the Application of Electrospun Drug-Loaded Nanofibers in the Treatment of Oral Ulcers

“…Thus, when cellulose acetate was used as a matrix, nanofiber films loaded with A/S derivatives showed outstanding antimicrobial properties [ 71 ]. Nanofibers can be used as dressings for wounds resulting from many different causes, including foot ulcers due to diabetes [ 75 ]. Nanofiber mats containing cinnamon essential oil and nanoparticles are effective for chronic diabetic wound healing [ 76 ].…”