Fabrication of antimicrobial poly(3-hydroxybuthyrate)/poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofibrous mats loaded with curcumin/β-cylodextrin inclusion complex as potential wound dressing

In recent years, bioactive natural agent-based wound dressings have gained a lot of interest thanks to their biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and antibacterial properties. In this study, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PHB/PCL) nanofibrous mats loaded with curcumin-β cyclodextrin (CUR-CD) inclusion complex, a bioactive agent, were successfully developed using the electrospinning technique. First, the CUR-CD inclusion complex was fabricated and characterized by FT-IR, XRD and UV–Vis analyses. This complex was then incorporated into the PHB/PCL nanofibers. The structural, morphological, mechanical, wettability, solubility features and antibacterial activity of the CUR-CD-based PHB/PCL nanofibrous mats were investigated. In addition, the release studies of curcumin (CUR) from the PHB/PCL matrix were performed for each nanofiber composite. FE-SEM results displayed that the fiber diameter was the lowest for PHB/PCL/3%CUR-CD at 392.37 nm compared to the others. According to the results, we observed that adding CUR and CUR-CD improved the thermal stability of PHB/PCL nanofibers. The development of the complex between CUR and βCD was supported by FT-IR analysis. Release test results revealed that the CUR-CD complex contributed to controlled release of CUR from fibers. The plate counting technique was used to examine the antibacterial activity nanofibrous mats. The antibacterial activity of PHB/PCL was significantly enhanced by incorporating the CUR-CD complex, particularly against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. After 6 h of contact, the PHB/PCL/10%CUR-CD nanofiber mat exhibited a remarkable 97.79 % reduction in bacterial growth. The results demonstrated that the fabricated PHB/PCL/CUR-CD nanofibrous mats could be potential candidates for use as a wound dressing.