Chronic wounds are one of the most severe health problems that affect millions of people worldwide. These types of injuries impair healing and lead to life-threatening complications. Therefore, suitable wound dressing materials are essential to prevent the risk of infection and to provide an excellent healing environment. The present research reports the development of an electrospun Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA)/Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/Chitosan (CS) wound dressing material, produced via emulsion electrospinning in a single step using homogeneous gel-like suspensions of two different and incompatible polymer solutions. The electrospun PLLA/PVA/CS fiber mats were loaded with two different amounts of Hypericum perforatum L. (HP) (2.5% and 5.0% owf). The results revealed that the produced electrospun PLLA/PVA/CS fiber mats displayed ideal properties as a wound dressing due to a total porosity, wettability, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), and swelling properties similar to those reported for the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the skin, mainly when 2.5% owf HP was incorporated. Moreover, the electrospun PLLA/PVA/CS fiber mats containing HP were able to prevent the growth of gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) without causing cytotoxicity to normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF). These findings suggest that these electrospun dressing mats are helpful for preventing wound infections as well as an appropriate support and microenvironment for wound healing.
Keywords: Hypericum perforatum L.; antimicrobial wound dressing; chronic wounds; crude plant extracts; emulsion electrospinning; gel-like suspensions.