Gold nanoparticles induce surface morphological transformation in polyurethane and affect the cellular response

Nanocomposites from a hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)-based polyester-type waterborne polyurethane (PU) containing different amounts (17.4-174 ppm) of gold (Au) nanoparticles (approximately 5 nm) were prepared. The microstructure and physiochemical properties of the nanocomposites were characterized. The cell attachment and proliferation, platelet activation, and bacterial adhesion on the nanocomposites were evaluated. Gold nanoparticles in small amounts induced significant changes in surface morphology and domain structures, from hard segment lamellae to soft segment micelles. These changes resembled the morphological transformation among different mesophases occurred in diblock copolymers. Better cellular proliferation, lower platelet activation, and reduced bacterial adhesion were demonstrated for the PU nanocomposite with 43.5 or 65 ppm of Au than the pure PU or the nanocomposite containing a different amount of Au. The different cellular response on PU-Au nanocomposites was attributed to the extensively modified surface morphology and phase separation in the presence of a small amount of Au nanoparticles.     

Enzymatic acylation of hydroxypropyl cellulose in organic media and determination of ester formation by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy

Esters were prepared by acylation of hydroxypropyl cellulose with fatty acid catalyzed by immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica in tert-butanol. The nature of the substrates used, the initial water activity of the system, and the molecular weight of the hydroxypropyl cellulose were investigated. Moreover, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used for determination of ester content on hydroxypropyl cellulose. Specifically, a linear relationship was established between the peak height assigned to the absorption of the esterified carboxyl groups of the cellulose and the ester content. At optimum reaction conditions, the ester content on the hydroxypropyl cellulose was about 11%.     

Optical resolution and mechanism using enantioselective cellulose,sodium alginate and hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin membranes

Chiral solid membranes of cellulose, sodium alginate, and hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin were prepared for chiral dialysis separations. After optimizing the membrane material concentrations, the membrane preparation conditions and the feed concentrations, enantiomeric excesses of 89.1%, 42.6%, and 59.1% were obtained for mandelic acid on the cellulose membrane, p ‐hydroxy phenylglycine on the sodium alginate membrane, and p ‐hydroxy phenylglycine on the hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin membrane, respectively. To study the optical resolution mechanism, chiral discrimination by membrane adsorption, solid phase extraction, membrane chromatography, high‐pressure liquid chromatography ultrafiltration were performed. All of the experimental results showed that the first adsorbed enantiomer was not the enantiomer that first permeated the membrane. The crystal structures of mandelic acid and p ‐hydroxy phenylglycine are the racematic compounds. We suggest that the chiral separation mechanism of the solid membrane is “adsorption – association – diffusion,” which is able to explain the optical resolution of the enantioselective membrane. This is also the first report in which solid membranes of sodium alginate and hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin were used in the chiral separation of p ‐hydroxy phenylglycine.     

Porcine blood cell separation by porous cellulose acetate membranes

Leukocytes were separated from whole porcine blood using laboratory prepared polymeric asymmetric porous membranes from cellulose acetate (CA) and by applying standard blood cell separation methods: centrifugation in a Ficoll solution gradient and in sucrose solution concentration gradient. Leukocytes, obtained by different separation methods were characterised by their quantity, type, viability and growth ability. Membranes prepared by a wet phase inversion process from different cellulose acetate/acetone/water and magnesium chlorate VII systems, were characterised according to: permeability to deionised water, surface morphology and by the determination of the flux of the permeate during the whole porcine blood separation. Cellulose acetate membranes prepared from 300 μm thick cast solution (14.8 wt% of cellulose acetate, 19.9 wt% of water, 2.3 wt% of Magnesium perchlorate, and 63.0 wt% of acetone), have separation characteristics comparable with the standard separation methods; in the dead-end mode filtration, 21.3% of leukocytes from porcine whole blood are separated. The leukocyte number in peripheral blood before separation was 450,000 ml^-1; the number passed through after was 95,000±6620. The main interest of the study was to introduce the CA membrane filters for the continus technological separation of the leukocyte/lymphocytes from animal (= porcine, bovine, horse..) blood. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Degradation of polyester polyurethane by newly isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain MZA-85 and analysis of degradation products by GC–MS

In this report, a polyester polyurethane (PU) degrading bacterium, designated as strain MZA-85, was isolated from soil through enrichment. The bacterium was identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing; it was completely matched with Pseudomonas aeruginosa type strain. The degradation of PU film pieces by P. aeruginosa strain MZA-85 was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). SEM micrographs of PU film pieces, treated with strain MZA-85, revealed changes in the surface morphology. FTIR spectrum showed increase in organic acid functionality and corresponding decrease in ester functional group. GPC results revealed increase in polydispersity, which shows that long chains of polyurethane polymer are cleaved into shorter chains by microbial action. The bacterium was found to produce cell associated esterases based on p-Nitrophenyl acetate (pNPA) hydrolysis assay. 1,4-Butanediol and adipic acid monomers were detected by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), which were produced as a result of hydrolysis of ester linkages in PU by cell bound esterases. Strain MZA-85 not only depolymerized PU but also mineralized it into CO₂ and H₂O, as indicated by increase in cells growth in the presence of degradation products as well as detection of CO₂ evolution through Sturm test. From the results presented above, it is finally concluded that P. aeruginosa strain MZA-85, as well as its enzymes, can be applied in the process of biochemical monomerization for the pure monomers recycling.     

Decreased astroglial cell adhesion and proliferation on zinc oxide nanoparticle polyurethane composites

Nanomaterials offer a number of properties that are of interest to the field of neural tissue engineering. Specifically, materials that exhibit nanoscale surface dimensions have been shown to promote neuron function while simultaneously minimizing the activity of cells such as astrocytes that inhibit central nervous system regeneration. Studies demonstrating enhanced neural tissue regeneration in electrical fields through the use of conductive materials have led to interest in piezoelectric materials (or those materials which generate a transient electrical potential when mechanically deformed) such as zinc oxide (ZnO). It has been speculated that ZnO nanoparticles possess increased piezoelectric properties over ZnO micron particles. Due to this promise in neural applications, the objective of the present in vitro study was, for the first time, to assess the activity of astroglial cells on ZnO nanoparticle polymer composites. ZnO nanoparticles embedded in polyurethane were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy to evaluate nanoscale surface features of the composites. The surface chemistry was characterized via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Astroglial cell response was evaluated based on cell adhesion and proliferation. Astrocyte adhesion was significantly reduced on ZnO nanoparticle/polyurethane (PU) composites with a weight ratio of 50:50 (PU:ZnO) wt.%, 75:25 (PU:ZnO) wt.%, and 90:10 (PU:ZnO) wt.% in comparison to pure PU. The successful production of ZnO nanoparticle composite scaffolds suitable for decreasing astroglial cell density demonstrates their potential as a nerve guidance channel material with greater efficiency than what may be available today.     

Surface characteristics of polyurethane elastomers based on chitin/1,4-butane diol blends

Biodegradable polyurethane elastomers with tunable hydrophobicity were synthesized by step-growth polymerization techniques using poly(?-caprolactone) (PCL) and 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). The prepolymer was extended with different mass ratios of chitin and 1,4-butane diol (BDO). The effect of chitin contents in chain extenders (CE) proportion on surface properties was studied and investigated. Incorporation of chitin contents into the final PU showed decrease in surface free energy and its polar component. Simultaneously, the work of water adhesion to polymer decreases significantly by increasing the chitin contents in the synthesized polymer. Contact angle measurement, water absorption and swelling behavior of the synthesized polyurethane samples were affected by varying the chitin contents in the chemical composition of the final PU. The interactions of the final PU films with solvents on the surface were displayed clear dependent on the contents of chitin in to the final polyurethane formulation. The results of different tests demonstrated that the synthesized products are a potential candidate as non-absorbable suture as previously investigated into their in vitro biocompatibility and non-toxicity [K.M. Zia, M. Zuber, I.A. Bhatti, M. Barikani, M.A. Sheikh, Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 44 (2009) 18–22].     

Lipase immobilisation on to polymeric membranes

Lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) from Candida rugosa was covalently immobilised on to cellulose, cellulose derivatives (cellulose acetate and cellulose phthalate) and cellulose composite membranes using activating agents such as sodium periodate or carbodiimide. Other non-cellulosic polymeric membranes (nylon, polyurethane, chitosan and hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) were also prepared and used for lipase immobilisation. The results obtained showed that the expressed activities are of the same order of magnitude for similar enzyme loadings when compared with those obtained from literature.     

壳聚糖基角膜细胞载体的制备及其细胞相容性

为探讨羟丙基壳聚糖基共混膜作为组织工程技术中角膜细胞培养载体的可行性, 分别制备了羟丙基壳聚糖/硫酸软骨素、羟丙基壳聚糖/明胶/硫酸软骨素以及羟丙基壳聚糖/氧化透明质酸/硫酸软骨素三种共混膜。测定其透光率、含水量和蛋白吸附性能; 在共混膜上培养兔角膜上皮细胞, 通过观察角膜上皮细胞在不同载体膜上的生长状态、贴附情况, 测定细胞活性以及上清液中乳酸脱氢酶的活性, 研究三种壳聚糖基载体膜片与角膜上皮细胞的相容性。膜片理化性质测定结果表明三种共混膜片具有良好的透明度, 适宜的含水量和较强的蛋白吸附性能; 细胞相容性实验结果表明羟丙基壳聚糖/明胶/硫酸软骨素共混膜对细胞的损伤最小, 有利于细胞在膜上的贴附和生长, 表现出良好的细胞相容性, 有望作为角膜细胞载体体外构建组织工程化角膜。     

Studies on Box-Behnken design experiments: cellulose acetate-polyurethane ultrafiltration membranes for BSA separation

Ultrafiltration membranes were prepared from mixtures of cellulose acetate-polyurethane blend membranes. During the last 1 or 2 decades, the concentration purification and separation of Albumin by ultrafiltration through semipermeable membranes have been put into practice and hence membrane separation is considered as the unit operation. The blend solution was prepared from cellulose acetate and polyurethane in polar solvent in presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone as additive. The performance of modified blend membranes applied for Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) separation by ultrafiltration technique using Box-Behnken design with three variables: additive, time and pressure. Three different levels was studied to identify a significant correlation between the effect of these variables on the amount of separation of BSA. The methodology identifies the principal experimental variables, which have the greatest effect on the separation process. The experimental values are in good agreement with predicted values, the correlation coefficient was found to be 0.9871.     

Surface characteristics of UV-irradiated chitin-based polyurethane elastomers

Chitin-based polyurethane elastomers (PUEs) constituted on 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and extended with blends of chitin/1,4-butane diol were first synthesized via two step polymerization technique and then irradiated for 50, 100 and 200 h in an UV exposure chamber as such the spectral distribution of the light is good match for terrestrial solar radiation. The surface properties of the irradiated PU samples were investigated by contact angle measurements, surface free energy and water absorption (%), total work of water adhesion to polymer and equilibrium degree of swelling. The effects of UV-irradiation time and chitin contents in chain extenders (CE) proportion on surface properties were investigated. Results of the aforementioned surface techniques revealed that the UV-irradiated polyurethane samples were affected by varying the UV exposure period.     

Degradation of polyester polyurethane by a newly isolated soil bacterium, Bacillus subtilis strain MZA-75

A polyurethane (PU) degrading bacterial strain MZA-75 was isolated from soil through enrichment technique. The bacterium was identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the phylogenetic analysis indicated the strain MZA-75 belonged to genus Bacillus having maximum similarity with Bacillus subtilis strain JBE0016. The degradation of PU films by strain MZA-75 in mineral salt medium (MSM) was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). SEM revealed the appearance of widespread cracks on the surface. FTIR spectrum showed decrease in ester functional group. Increase in polydispersity index was observed in GPC, which indicates chain scission as a result of microbial treatment. CO₂ evolution and cell growth increased when PU was used as carbon source in MSM in Sturm test. Increase in both cell associated and extracellular esterases was observed in the presence of PU indicated by p-Nitrophenyl acetate (pNPA) hydrolysis assay. Analysis of cell free supernatant by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) revealed that 1,4-butanediol and adipic acid monomers were produced. Bacillus subtilis strain MZA-75 can degrade the soft segment of polyester polyurethane, unfortunately no information about the fate of hard segment could be obtained. Growth of strain MZA-75 in the presence of these metabolites indicated mineralization of ester hydrolysis products into CO₂ and H₂O.     

Surface heparinization of polyurethane via bromoalkylation of hard segment nitrogens

Previous research from our group has demonstrated that bromoalkylation of polyurethane elastomers via base mediated activation of the urethane-hard segment nitrogen groups can be used to either attach bisphosphonate groups to confer calcification resistance or append cholesterol to promote endothelial cell adhesion. In the present studies we further explore the potential of this chemical approach by investigating bulk carboxylation of polyurethanes via bromoalkylation to enable surface heparinization for thromboresistance. Thus, polyurethane (PU) was modified with pendant 7-carboxy-5-thiaheptyl groups using a polymer-analogous reaction of bromobutylated PU with tetrabutylammonium 3-mercaptopropionate in mild conditions. The grafting of polyallylamine (PAA) onto the surface of carboxylated PU via direct coupling of amino and carboxy groups resulted in high levels of PAA (up to 8 mug/cm(2)). The surface-aminated PU was further covalently modified with unfractionated heparin as confirmed by FTIR. Fluorescence labeling of PAA hydrochloride and heparin with BODIPY-FL was used to quantify the extent of surface modifications. Heparin was covalently bound at a high level (1.11 +/- 0.06 mug/cm(2)) and was shown to be active, with demonstrable Factor Xa inhibition and platelet factor IV binding. It is concluded that surface amination of bulk-carboxylated PU represents a novel approach for heparinizing PU; carboxylation followed by surface amination represents another important dimension of bromo-alkyl activation of polyurethane hard segments, thereby enabling heparinization.     

The Preparation and Performance of a New Polyurethane Vascular Prosthesis

We investigated the performance of small-caliber polyurethane (PU) small-diameter vascular prosthesis generated using the electrospinning technique. PU was electrospun into small-diameter, small-caliber tubular scaffolds for potential application as vascular grafts. We investigated the effects of electrospinning conditions (solution concentration, mandrel rotation speed) on the microstructure and porosity of the scaffolds for the purpose of preparing scaffolds with optimum microstructures and properties. We evaluated the mechanical properties of the scaffolds by tensile tests and the cytotoxicity of the PU small-diameter, small-caliber PU synthetic vascular graft by the MTT assay. The adhesion of endothelial cells to the PU scaffold was characterized by Hoechst staining and fluorescence microscopy, and we measured endothelial cell proliferation on the PU scaffold by the CCK-8 assay. We analyzed the prosthesis microstructure and endothelial cell morphology using scanning electron microscopy. With increasing PU concentration in the electrospinning solution, the fiber diameter of the vascular graft increased and the porosity decreased. In addition, with increasing electrospinning time, the wall thickness increased and the porosity decreased. We found that regular fiber orientation can be obtained by adjusting the rotation speed of the mandrel. Cell proliferation was not inhibited as the small-caliber PU synthetic vascular grafts showed little cytotoxicity. The endothelial cells had faster adherence to the PU scaffolds than to the PTFE surface during the initial contact. After prolonged cell culture, significantly higher endothelial cell proliferation rate was observed in the PU scaffold groups than the PTFE group. We obtained small-caliber PU vascular grafts with optimal fiber arrangement, excellent mechanical properties, and optimal biocompatibility by optimizing the electrospinning conditions. This study provides in vitro biocompatibility data that is helpful for the clinical application of the PU small-diameter, small-caliber PU vascular grafts.     

Bioanode of polyurethane/graphite/polypyrrole composite in microbial fuel cells

Polyurethane (PU) foams were coated with graphite, and pyrrole monomer was subsequently polymerized onto its surface by chemical oxidization to obtain nanostructured polyurethane/graphite/polypyrrole (PU/Graph/PPy) composites, which were used for anaerobic microorganisms grown and tested as anodes in microbial fuel cells (MFC) using municipal wastewater as fuel. The effects of oxidizing agent type (ammonium persulfate and FeCl3) used in pyrrole polymerization on the performance of electrodes in MFC were studied. Composites were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and by the four-point probes to determine conductivity. It was observed from SEM analysis that globular nanostructures of PPy were formed onto PU surface with average diameters between 120 and 450 nm, which are typical of aqueous polymerization of pyrrole monomer. The highest output power density observed in MFCs was 305.5 mW/m³ for the composite synthesized using FeCl₃ as the oxidant, and 128.6 mW/m³ using the composite obtained with ammonium persulfate as oxidizing; the corresponding chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were 48.2 and 45.5%, respectively. The calculated coulombic efficiency for PU/Graph/PPy composite obtained with FeCl₃ as oxidant was of 9.4%. Internal resistance of MFC using the composite obtained with FeCl₃ as oxidant was determined by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and the variable resistance (VR) methods, giving 4.8 and 2.9 kO, respectively, with average maximum power density of 237.5 mW/m³.     

Role of membrane lipids in the mechanism of bacterial species selective toxicity by two α/β-antimicrobial peptides

We have previously shown that two synthetic antimicrobial peptides with alternating α- and β-amino acid residues, designated simply as α/β-peptide I and α/β-peptide II, had toxicity toward bacteria and affected the morphology of bacterial membranes in a manner that correlated with their effects on liposomes with lipid composition similar to those of the bacteria. In the present study we account for the weak effects of α/β-peptide I on liposomes or bacteria whose membranes are enriched in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and why such membranes are particularly susceptible to damage by α/β-peptide II. The α/β-peptide II has marked effects on unilamellar vesicles enriched in PE causing vesicle aggregation and loss of their internal aqueous contents. The molecular basis of these effects is the ability of α/β-peptide II to induce phase segregation of anionic and zwitterionic lipids as shown by fluorescence and differential scanning calorimetry. This phase separation could result in the formation of defects through which polar materials could pass across the membrane as well as form a PE-rich membrane domain that would not be a stable bilayer. α/β-Peptide II is more effective in this regard because, unlike α/β-peptide I, it has a string of two or three adjacent cationic residues that can interact with anionic lipids. Although α/β-peptide I can destroy membrane barriers by converting lamellar to non-lamellar structures, it does so only weakly with unilamellar vesicles or with bacteria because it is not as efficient in the aggregation of these membranes leading to the bilayer-bilayer contacts required for this phase conversion. This study provides further understanding of why α/β-peptide II is more toxic to micro-organisms with a high PE content in their membrane as well as for the lack of toxicity of α/β-peptide I with these cells, emphasizing the potential importance of the lipid composition of the cell surface in determining selective toxicity of anti-microbial agents.     

Role of membrane lipids in the mechanism of bacterial species selective toxicity by two alpha/beta-antimicrobial peptides

We have previously shown that two synthetic antimicrobial peptides with alternating alpha- and beta-amino acid residues, designated simply as alpha/beta-peptide I and alpha/beta-peptide II, had toxicity toward bacteria and affected the morphology of bacterial membranes in a manner that correlated with their effects on liposomes with lipid composition similar to those of the bacteria. In the present study we account for the weak effects of alpha/beta-peptide I on liposomes or bacteria whose membranes are enriched in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and why such membranes are particularly susceptible to damage by alpha/beta-peptide II. The alpha/beta-peptide II has marked effects on unilamellar vesicles enriched in PE causing vesicle aggregation and loss of their internal aqueous contents. The molecular basis of these effects is the ability of alpha/beta-peptide II to induce phase segregation of anionic and zwitterionic lipids as shown by fluorescence and differential scanning calorimetry. This phase separation could result in the formation of defects through which polar materials could pass across the membrane as well as form a PE-rich membrane domain that would not be a stable bilayer. alpha/beta-Peptide II is more effective in this regard because, unlike alpha/beta-peptide I, it has a string of two or three adjacent cationic residues that can interact with anionic lipids. Although alpha/beta-peptide I can destroy membrane barriers by converting lamellar to non-lamellar structures, it does so only weakly with unilamellar vesicles or with bacteria because it is not as efficient in the aggregation of these membranes leading to the bilayer-bilayer contacts required for this phase conversion. This study provides further understanding of why alpha/beta-peptide II is more toxic to micro-organisms with a high PE content in their membrane as well as for the lack of toxicity of alpha/beta-peptide I with these cells, emphasizing the potential importance of the lipid composition of the cell surface in determining selective toxicity of anti-microbial agents.     

Effect of hydrophobic mismatch on phase behavior of lipid membranes

We investigate the competing effects of hydrophobic mismatch and chain stretching on the morphology and evolution of domains in lipid membranes via Monte Carlo techniques. We model the membrane as a binary mixture of particles that differ in their preferred lengths, with the shorter particles mimicking unsaturated nonraft lipids and the longer particles mimicking saturated raft lipids. We find that phase separation can be induced upon increasing either the ratio J/kappa of the hydrophobic surface tension J to the compressibility modulus kappa. J/kappa determines the decay length for thickness changes. When this decay length is larger than the system size the membrane remains mixed. Furthermore, increasing the thickness relaxation time can induce transient phase separation.     

Influence of biodegradable and non-biodegradable material surfaces on the differentiation of human monocyte-derived macrophages

Monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and multinucleated foreign body giant cells (FBGC) are the primary cell types that remain at the cell-material interface of polyurethane (PU)-based medical devices as a result of chronic inflammatory responses. In vitro studies have demonstrated that MDM possess degradative potential toward PU, which can result in device failure. Because most studies have followed the degradation potential, morphology, and function of these cells only once fully differentiated, the current study investigated the influence of a non-degradable control tissue culture-grade polystyrene (TCPS) surface relative to two degradable model polycarbonate-urethanes (PCNU), of different chemistry, on various parameters of MDM morphology and function during a 14-day differentiation time course. The differentiation of human monocytes isolated from whole blood on PCNU materials resulted in increased cell attachment, decreased multinucleation, and significant decreases in cell spreading when compared with cells differentiated on TCPS. Actin-stained podosome-like cell adhesion structures were increased in PCNU-adherent cells, accompanied by an alteration in beta-actin and vinculin protein expression. The expression of the CD68 macrophage marker was reduced when cells were adherent to the PCNU materials and compared with TCPS, suggesting altered cell activation by the degradable relative to non-degradable materials. The degradative potential of these cells was altered by the material surface they were exposed to as measured by esterase activity and protein expression of monocyte-specific esterase. This was also supported by physical material breakdown evident in scanning electron microscopy images that illustrated holes in the PCNU films generated by the presence of differentiating MDM. It was concluded from these studies that PCNU materials significantly alter the function and morphology of differentiating MDM. This must be taken into consideration when studying cell-material interactions because these cells will receive cues from their immediate environment (including the biomaterial) upon differentiation, thereby affecting their resulting phenotype.     

Wound-dressing materials with antibacterial activity from electrospun polyurethane-dextran nanofiber mats containing ciprofloxacin HCl

Dextran is a versatile biomacromolecule for preparing electrospun nanofibrous membranes by blending with either water-soluble bioactive agents or hydrophobic biodegradable polymers for biomedical applications. In this study, an antibacterial electrospun scaffold was prepared by electrospinning of a solution composed of dextran, polyurethane (PU) and ciprofloxacin HCl (CipHCl) drug. The obtained nanofiber mats have good morphology. The mats were characterized by various analytical techniques. The interaction parameters between fibroblasts and the PU-dextran and PU-dextran-drug scaffolds such as viability, proliferation, and attachment were investigated. The results indicated that the cells interacted favorably with the scaffolds especially the drug-containing one. Moreover, the composite mat showed good bactericidal activity against both of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Overall, our results conclude that the introduced scaffold might be an ideal biomaterial for wound dressing applications.