PVA-Based Electrospun Biomembranes with Hydrolyzed Collagen and Ethanolic Extract of Hypericum perforatum for Potential Use as Wound Dressing: Fabrication and Characterization

Hypericum Perforatum Callus Extract-Loaded Composite Hydrogel with Diverse Bioactivities for Enhanced Wound Healing and Fibrosis Prevention

Plant Callus are a valuable source of pluripotent stem cells and bioactive phytochemicals. Meanwhile, the Hypericum perforatum callus extract (HPCE) is particularly rich in compounds such as hyperforin, hypericin, quercetin, and other phenolic and flavonoid derivatives. These phytochemicals exhibit strong antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic properties, making them promising for wound healing. One of the most critical challenges following wound healing is the formation of fibrosis, which can compromise the complex structural integrity of skin. To address this issue, a poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan/alginate (PCA) wound dressing loaded with HPCE is developed. This hydrogel dressing features a porous structure with suitable mechanical properties and a high swelling capacity, potentially enhancing its effectiveness in promoting tissue regeneration and wound healing. In vitro studies have confirmed its biocompatibility, cell proliferation, and cell adhesion properties. Additionally, the dressing has demonstrated the ability to inhibit the proliferation of certain antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The in vivo studies revealed the anti-inflammatory properties, promotion of angiogenesis, facilitation of re-epithelialization, and stimulation of collagen deposition of the dressing under investigation. Moreover, the immunohistochemistry analysis of the two key markers, p16 and p53, has shown that the application of the dressing helps prevent fibrosis after wound healing.

Review on application of herbal extracts in biomacromolecules-based nanofibers as wound dressings and skin tissue engineering

The skin, which covers an area of 2 square meters of an adult human, accounts for about 15 % of the total body weight and is the body's largest organ. It protects internal organs from external physical, chemical, and biological attacks, prevents excess water loss from the body, and plays a role in thermoregulation. The skin is constantly exposed to various damages so that wounds can be acute or chronic. Although wound healing includes hemostasis, inflammatory, proliferation, and remodeling, chronic wounds face different treatment problems due to the prolonged inflammatory phase. Herbal extracts such as Nigella Sativa, curcumin, chamomile, neem, nettle, etc., with varying properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and anticancer, are used for wound healing. Due to their instability, herbal extracts are loaded in wound dressings to facilitate skin wounds. To promote skin wounds, skin tissue engineering was developed using polymers, bioactive molecules, and biomaterials in wound dressing. Conventional wound dressings, such as bandages, gauzes, and films, can't efficiently respond to wound healing. Adhesion to the wounds can worsen the wound conditions, increase inflammation, and cause pain while removing the scars. Ideal wound dressings have good biocompatibility, moisture retention, appropriate mechanical properties, and non-adherent and proper exudate management. Therefore, by electrospinning for wound healing applications, natural and synthesis polymers are utilized to fabricate nanofibers with high porosity, high surface area, and suitable mechanical and physical properties. This review explains the application of different herbal extracts with different chemical structures in nanofibrous webs used for wound care.

Chitosan/Hyaluronate Complex-Coated Electrospun Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Materials Containing Extracts from Melissa officinalis and/or Hypericum perforatum with Various Biological Activities: Antioxidant, Antibacterial and In Vitro Anticancer Effects

The present study aimed to fabricate innovative fibrous materials with various biological activities from poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), sodium hyaluronate (HA), chitosan (Ch), Melissa officinalis (MO), Hypericum perforatum (HP) extract, or a combination of both extracts. Electrospinning or electrospinning followed by dip coating and the subsequent formation of a polyelectrolyte complex were the methods used to prepare these materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were applied for investigating the morphology of materials, their thermal characteristics, and their surface chemical composition. The composition and design of the mats had an influence on the in vitro release behavior of the main bioactive compounds present in the MO and HP extracts incorporated in the materials. It was found that as-created materials comprising a combination of both extracts and a Ch/HA complex exerted higher antioxidant activity than that of (non-)coated MO-containing mats and Ch/HA-coated mats containing HP. The novel materials manifested antibacterial efficacy towards the pathogenic bacteria S. aureus and E. coli, as evidenced by the performed microbiological screening. Furthermore, the mats possessed a great growth inhibitory effect on HeLa cancer cells but had a less pronounced effect on the growth of normal mouse BALB/3T3 fibroblasts. The loading of both extracts in the mats and the formation of coating led to the enhancement of the in vitro anticancer and antibacterial activities of the materials. Thus, the novel materials have potential for use in local cancer therapy as well as for use as wound dressings.

Innovative Bioactive Nanofibrous Materials Combining Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Extracts and Electrospinning Method

Since antiquity, humans have known about plants as a medicinal cure. Recently, plant extracts are attracting more attention as a result of their natural origin and wide range of desirable features. Nanotechnology's progress and innovations enable the production of novel materials with enhanced properties for a broad range of applications. Electrospinning is a cutting-edge, flexible and economical technique that allows the creation of continuous nano- and microfibrous membranes with tunable structure, characteristics and functionalities. Electrospun fibrous materials are used in drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound healing, cosmetics, food packaging, agriculture and other fields due to their useful properties such as a large surface area to volume ratio and high porosity with small pore size. By encapsulating plant extracts in a suitable polymer matrix, electrospinning can increase the medicinal potential of these extracts, thus improving their bioavailability and maintaining the required concentration of bioactive compounds at the target site. Moreover, the created hybrid fibrous materials could possess antimicrobial, antifungal, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that make the obtained structures attractive for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. This review summarizes the known approaches that have been applied to fabricate fibrous materials loaded with diverse plant extracts by electrospinning. Some potential applications of the extract-containing micro- and nanofibers such as wound dressings, drug delivery systems, scaffolds for tissue engineering and active food packaging systems are discussed.

Wound healing performance of electrospun PVA/70S30C bioactive glass/Ag nanoparticles mats decorated with curcumin: In vitro and in vivo investigations

Biocompatible fibrous scaffold containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), 70S30C bioactive glass (BG), silver (Ag) nanoparticles and curcumin (Cur) was fabricated through electrospinning method. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were employed to investigate the morphological characteristics of the scaffolds. In addition, biodegradability, hydrophilicity, and contact angle were studied as criteria for evaluating physical properties of the scaffolds. Tensile strength was reported to be 0.971 ± 0.093 MPa. Also, the viability of fibroblasts after 7 days of cell culture was 93.58 ± 1.36 %. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was illustrated using inhibition zones of 13.12 ± 0.69 and 14.21 ± 1.37 mm, respectively. Histological results revealed that tissue regeneration after 14 days of surgery was much higher for the dressing group compared to the blank group. According to the obtained results, the authors introduce the PVA-BG-Ag-Cur scaffold as a promising candidate for skin tissue engineering applications.

Electrospun PVA Fibers for Drug Delivery: A Review

Innovation in biomedical science is always a field of interest for researchers. Drug delivery, being one of the key areas of biomedical science, has gained considerable significance. The utilization of simple yet effective techniques such as electrospinning has undergone significant development in the field of drug delivery. Various polymers such as PEG (polyethylene glycol), PLGA (Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)), PLA(Polylactic acid), and PCA (poly(methacrylate citric acid)) have been utilized to prepare electrospinning-based drug delivery systems (DDSs). Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has recently gained attention because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and ideal mechanical properties as these are the key factors in developing DDSs. Moreover, it has shown promising results in developing DDSs individually and when combined with natural and synthetic polymers such as chitosan and polycaprolactone (PCL). Considering the outstanding properties of PVA, the aim of this review paper was therefore to summarize these recent advances by highlighting the potential of electrospun PVA for drug delivery systems.

Characterization and Applications of the Pectin Extracted from the Peel of Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima

The inadequate management of organic waste and excessive use of plastic containers cause damage to the environment; therefore, different studies have been carried out to obtain new biomaterials from agricultural subproducts. The objective of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of using the pectin extracted from the peel of Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima (PT), characterizing its type and viability for the production of edible biodegradable films. In addition, films of two thicknesses (23.45 ± 3.02 µm and 53.34 ± 2.28 µm) were prepared. The results indicated that PT is an excellent raw material for the extraction of pectin, with high yields (23.02 ± 0.02%), high galacturonic acid content (65.43 ± 2.241%), neutral sugars (ribose, xylose, glucose) and a high degree of esterification (76.93 ± 1.65%), classifying it as a high-methoxy pectin. Regarding the films, they were malleable and flexible, with a water vapor permeability from 2.57 × 10-10 ± 0.046 to 0.13 × 10-10 ± 0.029 g/s mPa according to thickness, being similar to other Passiflora varieties of edible films. The pectin extraction yield from PT makes this fruit a promising material for pectin production and its chemical composition a valuable additive for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Effect of Citric Acid on Swelling Resistance and Physicochemical Properties of Post-Crosslinked Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibrous Membrane

A series of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber membranes were crosslinked with citric acid (CA) at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 wt.% (designated as CA10, CA20, and CA30). The effects of CA on the chemical structure, mechanical strength, swelling resistance, and cytotoxicity of the crosslinked PVA fibrous membranes were investigated. Infrared spectroscopy indicated the enhanced esterification of carboxyl and hydroxyl groups between CA and PVA. The modulus and strength of the electrospun PVA membrane increased due to the crosslinking between CA and PVA. The crosslinking of the PVA fiber matrix with CA increased the PVA binding point, thereby increasing the swelling resistance and modulus; however, the concentration of CA used was limited. Results showed that the water absorption of the PVA membranes decreased from 6.58 ± 0.04 g/g for CA10 to 3.56 ± 3.33 g/g for CA20 and 2.85 ± 0.40 g/g for CA30 with increasing CA. The water absorption remained unchanged after the membrane was soaked for a period of time, so no significant difference was found in the water absorption capacity of the same group after immersion from 1 h to 3 d. The tensile strength increased from 20.52 MPa of CA10 to 22.09 MPa of CA20. With an increased amount of CA used for crosslinking, the tensile strength and modulus of CA30 decreased to 11.48 and 13.94 MPa, respectively. Our study also showed that CA was not toxic to L929 cell viability when used for fiber crosslinking at less than 20 wt.% PVA, meaning it may be a good candidate as a support layer for guided tissue engineering.

Quality Parameters of PE-Pomace Based Membranes

This paper presents the results of research on selected mechanical and physical properties of polyethylene membranes containing 50% of the plant fraction obtained as waste from an edible oil press. The produced biomembranes were characterized by low tensile strength (2.02-4.28 MPa). The addition of plant material will not adversely affect the barrier properties such as water vapor permeability or the contact angle. Additionally, there was a discoloration of the characteristics affecting the shrinkage of the membrane. The presence of the plant component clearly lowered the shrinkage of the material. This research is important and provides valuable knowledge on the possibilities of using plant waste and the direction of the potential application of the materials produced with their use.