Design, fabrication and characterization of electrospun wound dressing composed of polyvinyl alcohol/Aloe Vera

Tavakoli Targhi, Fatemeh; Baniasadi, Hossein; Hemmati, Azadeh

Design, fabrication and characterization of electrospun wound dressing composed of polyvinyl alcohol/Aloe Vera

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

F. Tavakoli Targhi

H. Baniasadi

A. Hemmati

Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Research Subject: One of the important methods in the treatment of skin wounds is the use of wound dressings. Recently, the use of polymer-based wound dressings has become increasingly common. The use of natural polymers is very important in wound dressings. The aim of the present study is to design and manufacture a polyvinyl alcohol/aloe vera wound dressing with the capability of healing skin wounds.

Research Approach: The electrospinning method was applied to prepare the samples. Aloe vera gel was first extracted, purified, and powdered by freeze-drying. In all samples, the amount of polyvinyl alcohol and aloe vera powder was fixed at 8 wt.%. This value was selected empirically based on the quality of the produced fibers. Different samples including different amounts of polyvinyl alcohol and aloe vera were produced and their properties including morphology, tensile strength, swelling, degradability, and antimicrobial properties were investigated.

Main Results: The results showed that the dropless random oriented fibers with uniform diameter were produced. The diameter increased with increasing aloe vera contribution, which was attributed to an increase in viscosity due to the presence of aloe vera. With increasing aloe vera contribution in the samples, tensile strength decreased and the elongation percentage increased. The swelling behavior of the specimens was evaluated by measuring the weight of the specimens in a simulated skin environment and the results showed that the presence of aloe vera increased the hydrophilic properties of the specimens. Antimicrobial activity of the samples against two gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated using the disk diffusion method and it was found that the presence of Aloe vera in the samples brought antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Finally, the findings of this study confirm the feasibility of using polyvinyl alcohol /aloe vera for the production of the electrospun wound dressing.

Keywords

Wound Dressing

Electrospinning

Polyvinyl alcohol

Aloe vera

Antibacterial Property

Subjects

Biomedical Enginireeng

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