Development of nanofibrous scaffolds containing gum tragacanth/poly (ε-caprolactone) for application as skin scaffolds

• A new skin tissue engineering scaffold from poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and gum tragacanth (GT) has been developed.
• These scaffolds might be an effectual simulator of the structure and composition of native skin.
• Very slight increase in melting peaks was observed due to the blending of PCL with GT nanofibers.
• Biodegradation, water uptake and hydrophilicity properties of these scaffolds showed that produced scaffolds were adherent.
• The electrospun PCL/GT scaffold can promote the skin regeneration of full-thickness-injured tissues.

Outstanding wound healing activity of gum tragacanth (GT) and higher mechanical strength of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) may produce an excellent nanofibrous patch for either skin tissue engineering or wound dressing application. PCL/GT scaffold containing different concentrations of PCL with different blend ratios of GT/PCL was produced using 90% acetic acid as solvent. The results demonstrated that the PCL/GT (3:1.5) with PCL concentration of 20% (w/v) produced nanofibers with proper morphology. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were utilized to characterize the nanofibers. Surface wettability, functional groups analysis, porosity and tensile properties of nanofibers were evaluated. Morphological characterization showed that the addition of GT to PCL solution results in decreasing the average diameter of the PCL/GT nanofibers. However, the hydrophilicity increased in the PCL/GT nanofibers. Slight increase in melting peaks was observed due to the blending of PCL with GT nanofibers. PCL/GT nanofibers were used for in vitro cell culture of human fibroblast cell lines AGO and NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells. MTT assay and SEM results showed that the biocomposite PCL/GT mats enhanced the fibroblast adhesion and proliferation compared to PCL scaffolds. The antibacterial activity of PCL/GT and GT nanofibers against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was also examined.