The protective layer of the body, the skin is often prone to damage due to several factors like trauma, accidents, stress and hazardous exposure. This requires the skin to regenerate itself which is a finely regulated process. To hasten the process and prevent further damage, the dressing material is of prime importance. Herein, we fabricated poly-3-hydroxybutyric acid (P)-sodium alginate (S)-(core-shell) nanofibrous matrix as protective scaffold for the skin tissue regeneration in excision wound model. The arginine (A) and layered double hydroxides-bacitracin (LB) were incorporated into the core and shell of the nanofibrous matrix using co-axial electrospinning. The core-shell nanofibers assist in the synergistic, controlled delivery of L-arginine, and bacitracin with major role in the protein synthesis, cell signaling and infection control at wound site respectively. In vitro biocompatibility was confirmed by testing on dermal fibroblasts. Furthermore, in vivo studies revealed the synergistic effect of both the components in active healing of wounds. The biochemical, histochemical and immunohistochemical studies reveal that the arginine loaded scaffold aided cellular migration and proliferation. These results suggest that the simultaneous existence of the drug bacitracin-nano clay complex and L-arginine in the shell and core respectively has conferred interesting dynamic properties to the scaffold towards wound healing.

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

Volume 168, 31 January 2021, Pages 46-58 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.12.025