PVA/PVP Nanofibres Incorporated with Ecklonia cava Phlorotannins Exhibit Excellent Cytocompatibility and Accelerate Hyperglycaemic Wound Healing

Phang SJ 1 , Teh HX 1 , Looi ML 2 , Fauzi MB 3 , Neo YP 4 , Arumugam B 1 Show all authors , Kuppusamy UR 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Centre for Future Learning, Taylor's University, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 3 Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 School of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, 47500, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [email protected]
Tissue Eng Regen Med, 2024 Feb;21(2):243-260.
PMID: 37865625 DOI: 10.1007/s13770-023-00590-5

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a major debilitating complication of diabetes. The lack of effective diabetic wound dressings has been a significant problem in DFU management. In this study, we aim to establish a phlorotannin-incorporated nanofibre system and determine its potential in accelerating hyperglycaemic wound healing.

METHODS: The effective dose of Ecklonia cava phlorotannins (ECP) for hyperglycaemic wound healing was determined prior to phlorotannin nanofibre fabrication using polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and ECP. Vapour glutaraldehyde was used for crosslinking of the PVA/PVP nanofibres. The phlorotannin nanofibres were characterised, and their safety and cytocompatibility were validated. Next, the wound healing effect of phlorotannin nanofibres was determined with 2D wound scratch assay, whereas immunofluorescence staining of Collagen-I (Col-I) and Cytokeratin-14 (CK-14) was performed in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK), respectively.

RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that 0.01 μg/mL ECP significantly improved hyperglycaemic wound healing without compromising cell viability and proliferation. Among all nanofibres, PVA/PVP/0.01 wt% ECP nanofibres exhibited the best hyperglycaemic wound healing effect. They displayed a diameter of 334.7 ± 10.1 nm, a porosity of 40.7 ± 3.3%, and a WVTR of 1718.1 ± 32.3 g/m2/day. Besides, the FTIR spectra and phlorotannin release profile validated the successful vapour glutaraldehyde crosslinking and ECP incorporation. We also demonstrated the potential of phlorotannin nanofibres as a non-cytotoxic wound dressing as they support the viability and proliferation of both HDF and HEK. Furthermore, phlorotannin nanofibres significantly ameliorated the impaired hyperglycaemic wound healing and restored the hyperglycaemic-induced Col-I reduction in HDF.

CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings show that phlorotannin nanofibres have the potential to be used as a diabetic wound dressing.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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