POLYMERIC NANOFIBER ELECTROSPINNING FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The skin, the biggest organ in the human body, serves a variety of purposes, including protection from heat, damage, and infection. As a result, injury to bigger skin areas is a potentially catastrophic scenario that needs immediate medical attention. In general, skin is made up of two layers. As a result, bigger skin segment erosion is a potentially catastrophic condition that needs immediate medical attention. In general, skin is made up of two layers. The epidermis, which is rich in keratinocytes, acts as a barrier against infection and moisture loss. Underneath the epidermis is the dermis, which is largely made up of fibroblast cells. Living epidermal replacements made of keratinocytes were first produced in the 1980s for the treatment of burn patients, wound healing, and diabetes-related ulcers; however, these epidermal sheets have drawbacks such as fragility and low take rates. As a result, various organizations have attempted to develop suitable scaffolding for live skin transplants. In general, a skin replacement scaffold should have both a dermal and an epidermal component. Materials for dermal counterparts must enhance fibroblast adherence, development, and function, whereas materials for epidermal counterparts should simply stimulate keratinocytes while restricting fibroblast colonization. Skin replacement scaffolds' huge inner surface area is a crucial feature that will help in cell adhesion, proliferation, and migration. Tissue engineers are interested in electrospun polymeric nanofiber scaffolds because of their nanostructure shape, which would mimic the somewhat random distribution of fibrillar extracellular matrix (ECM) components like collagen. Because PVA is more hydrophilic than PHB, combining both phases of PVA and PHB at the macromolecular level is challenging when using the solution casting technique. However, there is no information on whether the two polymers will properly mix during the creation of electrospun PVA/PHB nanofibers. As a result, the goal of this study was to create nanofibers from various PVA/PHB mixtures. To evaluate the miscibility of both polymers in the macromolecular area, a variety of various approaches should be used. The nanofiber scaffolds' biocompatibility with HaCaT cells (a keratinocyte cell line) and human dermal fibroblasts was also studied to determine whether they might be employed as a skin replacement material. The results are shown below.