Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with a high mortality rate and many complications. A non-healing diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one the most serious complications, leading to lower-extremity amputation in 15% of diabetic patients. Nanofibers are emerging as versatile wound dressing due to their unique wound healing properties, such as a high surface area to volume ratio, porosity, and ability to maintain a moist wound environment capable of delivering sustained drug release and oxygen supply to a wound. The present study was aimed to prepare and evaluate a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-sodium alginate (SA)-silk fibroin (SF)-based multifunctional nanofibrous scaffold loaded with asiaticoside (AT) in diabetic rats. The SEM findings showed that fibers' diameters ranged from 100-200 nm, and tensile strengths ranged from 12.41-16.80 MPa. The crosslinked nanofibers were sustained AT over an extended period. The MTT and scratch assay on HaCat cells confirmed low cytotoxicity and significant cell migration, respectively. Antimicrobial tests revealed an excellent anti-microbial efficacy against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus bacteria. In-vivo study demonstrated better wound healing efficacy in diabetic rats. In addition, the histopathological studies showed its ability to restore the normal structure of the skin. The present study concluded that developed multifunctional nanofibers have a great potential for diabetic wound healing applications.
Keywords: asiaticoside; crosslinking; diabetic wound healing; electrospinning; extracellular matrix; nanofibers; polyvinyl alcohol; sodium alginate.