Electrospun Multilayer Chitosan Scaffolds As Potential Wound Dressings For Skin Lesions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)In this work, double layer scaffolds were produced through the use of the electrospinning technique. One layer acts as mechanical support, being composed of polycaprolactone or a polycaprolactone/cellulose acetate blend (PCL and PCL/CA, respectively), while the other layer performs the role of primary wound dressing, being constituted by a chitosan/poly (ethylene oxide) blend (CHI/PEO). The scaffolds have the typical electrospun structure of interconnected open macropores due to the uniform distribution of randomly oriented fibers. The diameters of the PCL and PCL/CA fibers range from 1 to 4 pm while those of CHI/PEO fibers are smaller than 200 nm. The PCL or PCL/CA layers are responsible for the mechanical properties of the scaffolds: tensile strength of 1.4-1.8 MPa, Young's modulus of 10-15 GPa and elongation at break higher than 430%. The use of 10 wt% of CA in PCL/CA blends increases both tensile strength and Young's modulus, without loss of maximum elongation. There is a significant difference in surface Wettability of PCL or PCL/CA and CHI/PEO, as verified by water contact angle assays, being the CHI layer more hydrophilic (contact angle around 35) than the PCL-based layers (contact angle around 110) The double layer scaffolds PCL + CHI/PEO/PEO and PCL/CA + CHI/PEO/PEO presents a water vapor permeation rate of around 730 g m(- 2) day(-1) and a PBS solution uptake capability of up to 369%, being this characteristics attributed to the high volumetric porosity of the scaffolds (around 80%). The scaffolds properties meet the necessary requirements for application as dressings for skin lesions, showing also low cytotoxicity to L929 fibroblasts and promoting adequate cell proliferation. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.88161170CNPq-Brazil [150664/2015-0, 483787/2013-2, 307139/2015-8, 444514/2014-7]CAPES - Brazil [33003017034P-8]FAPESP-Brazil [2013/22127-2]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP