Chrysin loaded polycaprolactone-chitosan electrospun nanofibers as potential antimicrobial wound dressing

In this study, various concentrations of chrysin (chry) were loaded into polycaprolactone-chitosan (PCL-CTS) nanofibers to develop a potential wound dressing materials using electrospinning method. The structural composition and the morphology of the produced PCL-CTS5, PCL-CTS10 and PCL-CTS15 were analyzed by FE-SEM and FTIR, respectively. By increasing the amount of chry, the average diameter of the nanofibres was also increased to 191 ± 65 nm, 203 ± 72 nm, and 313 ± 69 nm for PCL-CTS5, PCL-CTS10, and PCL-CTS15, respectively. Moreover, the physicochemical characteristics and biological properties of synthesized nanofibers such as tensile testing, in-vitro drug release, porosity, decomposition rate, water absorption rate, water vapor permeability rate, cell viability, antioxidant and antibacterial activity were evaluated. By using Korsmeyer-Peppas and Higuchi kinetic models, the chry release mechanism in all nanofibers was studied in PBS solution, which suggested a Fick's diffusion. In-vitro antioxidant experiments by DPPH assay indicated 24, 43, 61 and 78 % free radical scavenging activity for PCL-CTS, PCL-CTS5, PCL-CTS10 and PCL-CTS15. In-vitro antibacterial examination showed that chry-loaded nanofibers had high antibacterial activity in which were comparable with the standard reagents. In-vitro cytotoxicity results obtained by MTT assay indicated a desired cytocompatibility towards fibroblast cells.