Electrospun Blends of Gelatin and Gelatin-Dendrimer Conjugates as a Wound-Dressing and Drug-Delivery Platform

Abstract

In this work, we report a new nanofiber construct based on electrospun blends of gelatin and gelatin-dendrimer conjugates. Highly branched star-shaped polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer G3.5 was covalently conjugated to gelatin via EDC/NHS chemistry. Blends of gelatin and gelatin-dendrimer conjugates mixed with various loading levels of silver acetate (0, 0.83, 1.65, and 3.30% w/w) were successfully electrospun into nanofiber constructs (NCs). The NCs were further converted into semi-interpenetrating networks (sIPNs) with photoreactive polyethylene glycol diacrylate (Mn = 575 g mol-1) (PEG DA575). They were characterized in terms of fiber morphology, diameter, pore size, permeability, degradation, and mechanical properties. The resulting sIPN NCs retained nanofiber morphology, possessed similar fiber diameters to counterpart NCs, and gained improved structural stability. The sIPN NCs also showed good swelling capacity owing to porous structures and were permeable to aqueous solutions. Silver-containing sIPN NCs allowed sustained silver release and showed antimicrobial activity against two common types of pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Incorporation of dendrimers into the gelatin nanofibers through covalent conjugation not only expands drug loading capacity of nanofiber constructs but also provides tremendous flexibility for developing multifunctional electrospun dressing materials.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Anti-microbial activity; Drug loading capacity; Polyamidoamine dendrimers; Polyethylene glycol diacrylate; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Semi-interpenetrating networks; Staphylococcus aureus; Structural stabilities, Bacteria; Biomaterials; Dendrimers; Mechanical properties; Morphology; Nanofibers; Silver; Stability, Loading, acetic acid; dendrimer; gelatin; gelatin dendrimer conjugate; macrogol; nanoconjugate; nanofiber; nanofiber construct; polyamidoamine; silver; unclassified drug, antimicrobial activity; aqueous solution; article; controlled study; drug degradation; drug delivery system; electrospinning; electrospun blend; growth inhibition; morphology; nonhuman; permeability; porosity; priority journal; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus; swelling; wound dressing; wound healing, Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bandages; Biocompatible Materials; Dendrimers; Drug Delivery Systems; Gelatin; Kinetics; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Structure; Porosity; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Silver; Staphylococcus aureus; Wound Healing

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1525-7797; 1526-4602

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2013 American Chemical Society (ACS), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

11 Nov 2013

PubMed ID

24127747

Link to Full Text

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