Abstract

Wound healing is a complex and intricate process that has affected millions of people due to improper management. Scaffolds are capable of exhibiting an environment that is optimum for the regeneration of damaged tissues and hence, enhances the process of wound healing. The current study was done to fabricate nanocomposites composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) as well as gamat oil and cerium (Ce) oxide particles of different ratios through electrospinning that can be used in the healing of wounds. The polymeric solutions were dissolved in two different solvent systems to investigate the influence of solvent parameters on the physical properties of nanofibres. Solvent system A was a mixture of chloroform and dimethylformamide (DMF), while solvent system B was a mixture of acetone and DMF. Morphological analysis of fibre diameter indicated a decrease and the reduction of diameter was more pronounced in solvent system B rather than A. Contact angle measurements revealed that the addition of added constituents to pure PCL have increased its’ hydrophobicity nature for nanocomposites using both solvent systems. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results indicated chemical interactions between PCL, gamat oil and cerium oxide as detected through the shift in absorption bands. Lastly, mechanical testing of the nanocomposites indicated that using both solvent systems, there was an increase in the tensile strengths when gamat oil and Ce oxide were added. The newly fabricated nanocomposites using different solvent systems demonstrated physicochemical properties that are well suited for wound healing applications.

摘要

伤口愈合是一个复杂而错综复杂的过程，由于管理不当，已经影响了数百万人。支架能够呈现出最适合受损组织再生的环境，从而促进伤口愈合过程。目前的研究是通过静电纺丝制造由聚己内酯 (PCL) 以及不同比例的伽马油和氧化铈 (Ce) 颗粒组成的纳米复合材料，可用于伤口愈合。将聚合物溶液溶解在两种不同的溶剂系统中，以研究溶剂参数对纳米纤维物理性能的影响。溶剂系统 A 是氯仿和二甲基甲酰胺 (DMF) 的混合物，而溶剂系统 B 是丙酮和 DMF 的混合物。纤维直径的形态学分析表明在溶剂系统 B 中直径的减小比在 A 中更明显。接触角测量表明，向纯 PCL 中添加添加成分增加了使用两种溶剂系统的纳米复合材料的疏水性。傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 结果表明 PCL、伽马油和氧化铈之间的化学相互作用是通过吸收带的位移检测到的。最后，纳米复合材料的机械测试表明，使用两种溶剂系统，当添加伽马油和氧化铈时，拉伸强度都会增加。使用不同溶剂系统新制造的纳米复合材料表现出非常适合伤口愈合应用的物理化学特性。