EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

Bacterial infection in wound healing is a critical health concern. In recent years, the use of natural antibiotic-free agents such as phytotherapeutics has been of renewed interest to suppress bacterial infection. In particular, essential oils are promising phytotherapeutics aiming at the promotion of wound healing and the decrease of bacterial infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate peppermint (PEP) or clove (CLV) essential oil-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL)-gelatin(GEL) antibacterial nanofiber mats for antibacterial wound dressing. SEM images illustrated that the morphology of all electrospun fiber mats was smooth, uniform, and bead-free. The addition of PEP or CLV to nanofiber mats not only decreased the average fiber diameter but also enhanced the hydrophilicity compared to pure PCL-GEL nanofiber mats, by accelerating wound healing. The presence of PEP and CLV, their encapsulation efficiency, total phenol content, antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity and biocompatibility as well as in vitro wound healing performance of the nanofiber mats were evaluated in antibacterial wound dressings. Antibacterial activity studies using S. aureus (gram-positive) and E. coli (gram-negative) bacteria showed that the PEP or CLV-loaded PCL-GEL nanofiber mats reduced the bacteria viability for both bacteria strains. Furthermore, our results revealed that the highest bacteria inhibition on CLV-loaded PCL-GEL nanofiber mats were observed for S. aureus compared to E. Coli, whereas PEP-loaded nanofiber mats were more effective for E. coli. In addition, in-vitro cell viability assays, using normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells showed that PEP or CLV-loaded PCL-GEL nanofiber mats did not have a cytotoxic effect on normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF). Our findings revealed that PEP or CLV-loaded PCL-GEL nanofiber mats of antibiotic-free antibacterial activity are potential candidates for antibacterial wound dressings.