Anti-oxidant electroactive and antibacterial nanofibrous wound dressings based on poly(ε-caprolactone)/quaternized chitosan-graft-polyaniline for full-thickness skin wound healing

Developing a novel nanofibrous wound dressing with multi-functional properties, integrating suitable mechanical property, electroactivity, anti-oxidant and inherent antibacterial activity to promote wound healing process is urgently desired, which could meet the increasing requirements of clinical needs. Herein, a series of antibacterial, anti-oxidant and electroactive nanofibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and quaternized chitosan-graft-polyaniline (QCSP) polymer solutions which combined the good mechanical property of PCL and multi-functionality of QCSP. The nanofibrous wound dressings exhibited electroactivity, similar mechanical properties to soft tissue, free radical scavenging capacity, antibacterial property, and biocompatibility. In particular, PCL/QCSP15 (15 wt% of QCSP in the sample) showed a good balanced ability between antibacterial activity and cell proliferation, which significantly accelerated the healing process of wound in a mouse full-thickness wounds defect model than commercial dressing (Tegaderm™ Film) and pure PCL (PCL/QCSP0) nanofibrous membrane. Moreover, the histopathological examination and immunofluorescence staining showed that the wounds treated by PCL/QCSP15 nanofiber dressing exhibited higher collagen deposition, granulation tissue thickness, and more angiogenesis. In one word, these antibacterial, anti-oxidant, electroactivity nanofibrous membranes showed promising applications for full-thickness skin repair.