ROS-responsive electrospun poly(amide thioketal) mats for wound dressing applications

Excessive levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are usually associated with the inflammatory response during the wound healing process. Therefore, strategies that can locally control the adverse effects of excessive formation of ROS may lead to improved healing times. In this work, ROS-responsive scavenging materials were developed using a degradable poly(amide thioketal) (PATK) polymer. This PATK polymer was prepared using a thioketal (TK) diacid monomer which gives the polymer the ability to be degraded by ROS. This PATK polymer was used to prepare electrospun mats by blending it with the biocompatible poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). The developed mats showed good degradability when exposed to an oxidative environment and can also be degraded by a photo-mediated mechanism. Cytotoxicity tests performed in vitro on a fibroblast cell line showed that the mats had no adverse effects on the cells, confirming the potential of these systems for biomedical applications. In addition, the antioxidant capacity of the membranes was also found to be good, which could be relevant for wound dressing applications.