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Abstract: In the scope of the Doctoral Dissertation, a polysaccharide based stimuli-responsive smart material with controlled drug release was developed by using electrospinning technique, which allowed to form stimuli-responsive nanofibers with rapid visual detection of pH change in the wound bed along with anti-inflammatory activity. Incorporation of halochromic dyes into electrospun nanofibers has been an intriguing area for wound healing applications. Furthermore, it is known that the pH value within the wound milieu directly and indirectly influences all biochemical reactions taking place in the process of wound healing. It has been proven that the surface pH of a wound plays an important role in wound healing as it helps control infection and increases the antimicrobial activity, oxygen release, angiogenesis, protease activity, and bacterial toxicity. Therefore, visual pH monitoring without the need of removing the wound dressing was one of the aims of the Doctoral Dissertation. Produced stimuli-responsive wound dressings were characterized according to their morphological and chemical properties using well-known techniques such as, rheometry, conductivity, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM),CIE Lab, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), UV/VIS Spectrophotometry, and Attenuated Total Reflection Infra-Red Spectroscopy (ATR-IR). Responsiveness of the nanofibers were achieved by integration of different halochromic dyes [bromocresol green (BCG), bromothymol blue (BTB) and thymol blue (TB)] to obtain a range of pH values. To tackle the problem of leaching of the dyes, a complexing agent; poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) was integrated and an analysis on the formation of complexation was performed by using pH-potentiometric titration and Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) techniques. Additionally, release tests were performed to prove that the leaching of the halochromic dyes is reduced significantly up to 97%. Furthermore, the responsiveness of the nanofibers was investigated by exposing the nanofibers to different buffer solutions with pH values 4, 7 and 10. The color change of the nanofibers were analyzed using the CIE Lab system while a visual color shift was observed according to their characteristics. Lastly, diclofenac (DFC), an anti-inflammatory drug molecule was integrated to the system and drug release studies were performed by using Franz diffusion cells. A controlled release of the drug molecule (DFC) to the wound bed is achieved and quantitative evaluations were done. Consequently, the drug release from the smart wound dressings were identified to have two separate profiles during the release. The mathematical models that were identified to fit to the kinetics are, first-order, Korsmeyer-Peppas, and Higuchi release model, confirming the controlled drug release.
Keywords: stimuli-responsive, polysaccharides, wound dressings, halochromism, controlled drug release, smart materials
Published in DKUM: 06.10.2023; Views: 426; Downloads: 36
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