title: Fabrication and characterization of Pluronic modified poly(hydroxybutyrate) fibers for potential wound dressing applications.
abstract: Electrospun poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) fiber meshes have shown some success in wound dressing applications, however, their use is limited by their high hydrophobicity and brittle nature. In this study we investigated the effect of hydrophilization of electrospun PHB fibers by blending with Pluronic F-108 (PF) for use as a wound dressing material. Blending of PHB with different concentrations of PF (0.5%PF-PHB and 1.0% PF-PHB) before electrospinning led to a significant increase in the water wettability and swelling properties of fibers as compared to pristine PHB fibers. Further, it was observed that though the tensile moduli of PF blended PHB fibers were relatively lower as compared to PHB fibers, they show higher resistance to failure measured in terms of strain to failure and energy to failure. Moreover, PF blending significantly improved the in vitro blood clotting rate on PHB fibers when compared to control PHB fibers. Furthermore, the fabricated fiber systems were found to be cytocompatible and supported adhesion of fibroblasts in vitro. Finally, it was demonstrated that the PF blended fiber systems were suitable for the encapsulation of an antibiotic (doxycycline) to render them with antibacterial properties. Taken together, this study demonstrates that PF blending can be used to significantly improve properties of PHB fibers for wound dressing applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Arijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhattacharjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Krishan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Aditya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India. Electronic address: dsk@iitk.ac.in.
authors.forename: Dhirendra S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Katti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001458:Bandages; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D065546:Drug Liberation; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D020442:Poloxamer / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013718:Tensile Strength; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D011108:Polymers; D020442:Poloxamer; D004318:Doxycycline
keywords: Doxycycline; Pluronic F-108; Poly(hydroxybutyrate); Surface modification; Wettability; Wound dressing