Accelerated wound closure rate by hyaluronic acid release from coated PHBV electrospun fiber scaffolds

The enormous potential of electrospun polymer fibers allows for their development in the field of biomaterials for tissue engineering and wound healing. Electrospun fibers based on biodegradable polymers such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) are an ideal material for the production of a biocompatible cell scaffold supporting wound closure and skin regeneration. The aim of this research was to create a fibrous PHBV scaffold supporting the 3D environment for anchoring and proliferation of keratinocytes. Moreover, hyaluronic acid (HA) has been used as a coating on PHBV fibers to improve the wound closure processes. ATR-FTIR results indicated the presence of HA in the PHBV scaffolds and UV-Vis analysis confirmed the release of HA from the fibers over 24h test. Importantly, this release of HA increase keratinocyte activity as well their proliferation leading to accelerated wound closure rate in the scratch tests. The designed HA-coated PHBV scaffolds demonstrate the great potential of surface-modified electrospun polymer fibers for wound healing.