Electrospinning of polyurethane/graphene oxide for skin wound dressing and its in vitro characterization

Abstract

Electrospinning polyurethane has been utilized as skin wound dressing for protecting skin wounds from infection and thus facilitating their healings, but also limited by its imperfect biocompatibility, mechanical and antibacterial properties. This paper presents our study on the addition of graphene oxide to electrospinning polyurethane for improved properties, as well as its in vitro characterization. Polyurethane/graphene oxide wound dressing was electrospun with varying amount of graphene oxide (from 0.0% to 2.0%); and in vitro tests was carried out to characterize the wound dressing properties and performance from the structural, mechanical, and biological perspectives. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to confirm the interaction between graphene oxide particles and polyurethane fibers, while the scanning electron microscopy images further illustrated that the wound dressing was of a porous structure with fibre diameters depending on the amount of graphene oxide added; specifically, 20 to 180 nm were for composite polyurethane/graphene oxide fibers and 600 to 900 nm for pure polyurethane. Our results also revealed that the hydrophilicity and swelling properties of the wound dressing could be regulated by the amount of graphene oxide added to the polyurethane/graphene oxide composites. Mechanical, antibacterial, and cytotoxicity properties of the composite polyurethane/graphene oxide wound dressing were examined with the results illustrating that the addition of graphene oxide could improve the properties of the electrospun wound dressing. Combined together, our study illustrates that electrospinning polyurethane/graphene oxide composite is promising as skin wound dressing.

Comparing the wound healing effect of a controlled release wound dressing containing curcumin/ciprofloxacin and simvastatin/ciprofloxacin in a rat model: A preclinical study

“…To measure the swelling ability of the samples, they were prepared in a suitable size (20 × 5 mm 2 ). Before the fibers were immersed in PBS for 60 h, the wet weight ( m w ) of the fibers was recorded; then, their dry weights ( m d ) were calculated 34‐37 . After that, the swelling ability was measured by using the following equation: In this equation, m w is the wet sample mass and m d is the dry sample mass.…”

Biomedical Applications of Electrospun Graphene Oxide

“…184 GO-containing electrospun mats have been widely reported for their biocompatibility in wound healing systems (see Table 3). Biocompatibility toward normal human dermal fibroblast cells, 182,185 L929 cells, 38,171 and MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells 174 have all been reported. There has been a focus on fibroblast cells in particular due to their role in wound healing.…”

“…Conclusively, GO-electrospun nanofibers have vast potential in the area of wound healing. Properties such as antibacterial activity, drug loading/release, biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, in vivo regeneration, and superior mechanical properties all signify favorable characteristics of the material for wound-healing applications. ,, …”

Graphene-Oxide-Enriched Biomaterials: A Focus on Osteo and Chondroinductive Properties and Immunomodulation

“…The addition of different percentages of GO (from 0 to 2%) on polyurethane material used for protecting skin wounds from external agents, such as microorganisms, and to improve its healing ameliorates its properties. As a matter of fact, polyurethane becomes more biocompatible in the presence of GO, and its antibacterial and mechanical properties appear to increase [ 23 ]. In another study, researchers highlighted the compatibility of GO–cellulose nanocomposites in the presence of endothelial cells (ECs) and their capability to improve in vitro EC migration and in vivo rat skin wound healing, thus inducing neo-vascularization and re-epithelization [ 24 ].…”