Fabrication of Bilayer Nanofibrous-Hydrogel Scaffold from Bacterial Cellulose, PVA, and Gelatin as Advanced Dressing for Wound Healing and Soft Tissue Engineering

Rawaiz Khan; Muhammad Umar Aslam Khan; Goran M Stojanović; Aneela Javed; Sajjad Haider; Saiful Izwan Abd Razak

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c06613

Fabrication of Bilayer Nanofibrous-Hydrogel Scaffold from Bacterial Cellulose, PVA, and Gelatin as Advanced Dressing for Wound Healing and Soft Tissue Engineering

ACS Omega. 2024 Feb 1;9(6):6527-6536. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c06613. eCollection 2024 Feb 13.

Authors

Rawaiz Khan¹, Muhammad Umar Aslam Khan^{2

3

4}, Goran M Stojanović⁵, Aneela Javed⁶, Sajjad Haider⁷, Saiful Izwan Abd Razak^{4

8}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor 81310, Malaysia.
² Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
³ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
⁴ BioInspired Device and Tissue Engineering Research Group, School of Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor 81300, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Electronics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia.
⁶ Department of Healthcare Biotechnology, Atta Ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
⁷ Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Sports Innovation & Technology Centre, Institute of Human Centred Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor 81300, Malaysia.

Abstract

Tissue engineering is currently one of the fastest-growing areas of engineering, requiring the fabrication of advanced and multifunctional materials that can be used as scaffolds or dressings for tissue regeneration. In this work, we report a bilayer material prepared by electrospinning a hybrid material of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and bacterial cellulose (BC NFs) (top layer) over a highly interconnected porous 3D gelatin-PVA hydrogel obtained by a freeze-drying process (bottom layer). The techniques were combined to produce an advanced material with synergistic effects on the physical and biological properties of the two materials. The bilayer material was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a water contact measurement system (WCMS). Studies on swelling, degradability, porosity, drug release, cellular and antibacterial activities were performed using standardized procedures and assays. FTIR confirmed cross-linking of both the top and bottom layers, and SEM showed porous structure for the bottom layer, random deposition of NFs on the surface, and aligned NFs in the cross section. The water contact angle (WCA) showed a hydrophilic surface for the bilayer material. Swelling analysis showed high swelling, and degradation analysis showed good stability. The bilayer material released Ag-sulfadiazine in a sustained and controlled manner and showed good antibacterial activities against severe disease-causing gram + ive and -ive (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacterial strains. In vitro biological studies were performed on fibroblasts (3T3) and human embryonic kidneys (HEK-293), which showed desirable cell viability, proliferation, and adhesion to the bilayer. Thus, the synergistic effect of NFs and the hydrogel resulted in a potential wound dressing material for wound healing and soft tissue engineering.