Acceleration of dermal wound healing by using electrospun curcumin‐loaded poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐poly(ethylene glycol)‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) fibrous mats

Abstract

This study prepared a composite scaffold composed of curcumin and poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐poly(ethylene glycol)‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL‐PEG‐PCL, PCEC) copolymer using coelectrospinning technology. Incorporation of curcumin into the polymeric matrix had an obvious effect on the morphology and dimension of PCEC/curcumin fibers. The results of in vitro anti‐oxidant tests and of the cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that the curcumin‐loaded PCEC fibrous mats had significant anti‐oxidant efficacy and low cytotoxicity. Curcumin could be sustainably released from the fibrous scaffolds. More importantly, in vivo efficacy in enhancing wound repair was also investigated based on a full‐thickness dermal defect model for Wistar rats. The results indicated that the PCEC/curcumin fibrous mats had a significant advantage in promoting wound healing. At 21 days post‐operation, the dermal defect was basically recovered to its normal condition. A percentage of wound closure reached up to 93.3 ± 5.6% compared with 76.9 ± 4.9% of the untreated control ( p < 0.05). Therefore, the as‐prepared PCEC/curcumin composite mats are a promising candidate for use as wound dressing. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 102B: 533–542, 2014.