In this study we describe the potential of electrospun curcumin-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/gum tragacanth (GT) (PCL/GT/Cur) nanofibers for wound healing in diabetic rats. These scaffolds with antibacterial property against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus as gram positive bacteria and extended spectrum β lactamase as gram negative bacteria were applied in two forms of acellular and cell-seeded for assessing their capability in healing full thickness wound on the dorsum of rats. After 15days, pathological study showed that the application of GT/PCL/Cur nanofibers caused markedly fast wound closure with well-formed granulation tissue dominated by fibroblast proliferation, collagen deposition, complete early regenerated epithelial layer and formation of sweat glands and hair follicles. No such appendage formation was observed in the untreated controls during this duration. Masson's trichrome staining confirmed the increased presence of collagen in the dermis of the nanofiber treated wounds on day 5 and 15, while the control wounds were largely devoid of collagen on day 5 and exhibited less collagen amount on day 15. Quantification analysis of scaffolds on day 5 confirmed that, tissue engineered scaffolds with increased amount of angiogenesis number, granulation tissue area (μ(2)), fibroblast number, and decreased epithelial gap (μ) can be more effective compared to GT/PCL/Cur nanofibers.
Keywords: Curcumin; Diabetic wound healing; Gum tragacanth; Nanofibrous scaffolds; Poly(caprolactone).
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