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Electroactive and antibacterial wound dressings based on Ti3C2Tx MXene/poly(ε-caprolactone)/gelatin coaxial electrospun nanofibrous membranes

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Abstract

Endogenous electric fields (EFs) are capable of regulating the behaviors of skin cells in wound healing. However, majority of current dressings are primarily engaged in the passive repair of defective tissue, as they lack the ability to actively respond to physiological electrical signals. In this work, a series of nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) were fabricated by coaxial electrospinning, combining the good mechanical properties of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), the bioactivity of gelatin and the electroactivity of Ti3C2Tx MXene, as electroactive and antibacterial dressings for cutaneous wound healing. The obtained NFMs exhibited suitable mechanical properties and hydrophilicity, excellent electroactivity, antibacterial activity, and biocompatibility. Especially, Ti3C2Tx MXene/PCL/gelatin-6 (MPG-6, 6 wt.% of Ti3C2Tx MXene in sheath spinning liquids) showed the optimal conductivity and antibacterial activity. Excitingly, this scaffold significantly promoted the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of NIH 3T3 cells under the electrical stimulation (ES). The in vivo evaluation in a full-thickness wounds defect model demonstrated that the MPG-6 films significantly accelerated wound closure, increased granulation tissue formation, increased collagen deposition, and promoted wound vascularization. In summary, the versatile scaffold is expected to be an ideal candidate as wound dressings due to its ability to promote the transmission of physiological electrical signals and thus improved the therapeutic outcomes of wound regeneration.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi (No. 2022SF-200), the Fund of Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymers Design and Application in Soochow University (No. KJS2007), and the Undergraduate Training Programs of Shaanxi Province for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (No. S202210699534).

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  1. Key Laboratory for Space Biosciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China

    Shixin Xu, Chen Du, Miaomiao Zhang, Ruoying Wang, Wei Feng, Chengwei Wang, Qinsong Liu & Wen Zhao

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  1. Shixin Xu
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  2. Chen Du
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  3. Miaomiao Zhang
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  4. Ruoying Wang
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  5. Wei Feng
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  6. Chengwei Wang
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  7. Qinsong Liu
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  8. Wen Zhao
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Correspondence to Wen Zhao.

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Xu, S., Du, C., Zhang, M. et al. Electroactive and antibacterial wound dressings based on Ti3C2Tx MXene/poly(ε-caprolactone)/gelatin coaxial electrospun nanofibrous membranes. Nano Res. 16, 9672–9687 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5527-z

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