Background: Electrospun nanofibers based on Colocasia esculenta tuber (CET) protein are considered as a promising material for wound dressing applications. However, the use of these nanofibers in aqueous conditions has poor stability. The present study was performed to obtain insights into the crosslinked electrospun CET’s protein–chitosan (CS)–poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) nanofibers and to evaluate their potential for wound dressing applications.
Methods: The electrospun nanofibers were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA) vapor and heat treatment (HT) to enhance their physicochemical stability. The crosslinked nanofibers were characterized by protein profiles, morphology structures, thermal behavior, mechanical properties, and degradation behavior. Furthermore, the antibacterial properties and cytocompatibility were analyzed by antibacterial assessment and cell proliferation.
Results: The protein profiles of the electrospun CET’s protein–CS–PEO nanofibers before and after HT crosslinking contained one major bioactive protein with a molecular weight of 14.4 kDa. Scanning electron microscopy images of the crosslinked nanofibers indicated preservation of the structure after immersion in phosphate buffered saline. The crosslinked nanofibers resulted in higher ultimate tensile strength and lower ultimate strain compared to the non-crosslinked nanofibers. GA vapor crosslinking showed higher water stability compared to HT crosslinking. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the crosslinked nanofibers showed a stronger bacteriostatic effect on Staphylococcus aureus than on Escherichia coli. Human skin fibroblast cell proliferation on crosslinked GA vapor and HT nanofibers with 1% (w/v) CS and 2% (w/v) CET’s protein demonstrated the highest among all the other crosslinked nanofibers after seven days of cell culture. Cell proliferation and cell morphology results revealed that introducing higher CET’s protein concentration on crosslinked nanofibers could increase cell proliferation of the crosslinked nanofibers.
Conclusion: These results are promising for the potential use of the crosslinked electrospun CET’s protein–CS–PEO nanofibers as bioactive wound dressing materials.



中文翻译：

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具有抗菌活性和细胞相容性的物理-化学交联电纺 Colocasia esculenta 块茎蛋白-壳聚糖-聚（环氧乙烷）纳米纤维。

背景：基于Colocasia esculenta tuber (CET) 蛋白的静电纺丝纳米纤维被认为是一种有前途的伤口敷料材料。然而，这些纳米纤维在水性条件下的使用稳定性较差。本研究旨在深入了解交联电纺 CET 的蛋白质-壳聚糖 (CS)-聚环氧乙烷 (PEO) 纳米纤维，并评估其在伤口敷料应用中的潜力。
方法：电纺纳米纤维与戊二醛 (GA) 蒸气和热处理 (HT) 交联，以增强其物理化学稳定性。交联纳米纤维的特征在于蛋白质分布、形态结构、热行为、机械性能和降解行为。此外，通过抗菌评估和细胞增殖分析了抗菌特性和细胞相容性。
结果：静电纺丝 CET 的蛋白质-CS-PEO 纳米纤维在 HT 交联前后的蛋白质谱包含一种分子量为 14.4 kDa 的主要生物活性蛋白质。交联纳米纤维的扫描电子显微镜图像表明，在浸入磷酸盐缓冲盐水后结构得以保存。与未交联的纳米纤维相比，交联的纳米纤维导致更高的极限拉伸强度和更低的极限应变。与 HT 交联相比，GA 蒸汽交联表现出更高的水稳定性。交联纳米纤维的体外抗菌活性对金黄色葡萄球菌的抑菌作用强于对大肠杆菌的抑菌作用。. 在细胞培养 7 天后，具有 1% (w/v) CS 和 2% (w/v) CET 蛋白的交联 GA 蒸气和 HT 纳米纤维上的人皮肤成纤维细胞增殖在所有其他交联纳米纤维中表现出最高。细胞增殖和细胞形态结果表明，在交联纳米纤维上引入更高的 CET 蛋白浓度可以增加交联纳米纤维的细胞增殖。
结论：这些结果对于将交联的静电纺丝 CET 的蛋白质-CS-PEO 纳米纤维用作生物活性伤口敷料材料具有前景。