Electrospun Silk Fibroin and Collagen Composite Nanofiber Incorporated with Palladium and Platinum Nanoparticles for Wound Dressing Applications

In the field of biomedical engineering, nanofiber scaffolds have excellent biomaterial properties, making them highly suitable for superior wound dressing applications. This work presents the fabrication of a novel bimetal blend comprising palladium and platinum nanoparticles integrated with silk fibroin and collagen composite nanofibers through the electrospinning method. The fabricated composite nanofibrous scaffolds were investigated to analyze their chemical composition, surface morphology, thermal stability, porosity, hemocompatibility, mechanical strength, swelling, and degradation properties. The average diameter length of the SF/CL/Pd-Pt composite nanofiber scaffolds is 141.62 +/- 33.03 nm, with Pd and Pt nanoparticle diameters measured at 8.64 and 7.36 nm, respectively. In vitro assessments of SF/CL and SF/CL/Pd-Pt composite nanofiber scaffolds demonstrated outstanding antibacterial efficacy against both gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria. The antioxidant activity of SF/CL/Pd-Pt composite nanofibers exhibited a free radical scavenging percentage of 94.34%. Additionally, cell proliferation studies conducted on the fibroblast (NIH3T3) cell line, along with in vivo investigations on male Sprague-Dawley rats, underscored the remarkable wound-healing ability of the SF/CL/Pd-Pt composite nanofiber scaffolds. Furthermore, histopathological examination of wounded tissue samples using H&E and Masson trichrome staining revealed faster reepithelialization, granulation, angiogenesis, and reduced inflammatory response. These findings demonstrate that SF/CL/Pd-Pt composite nanofibrous scaffolds are excellent wound dressing materials for all biomedical applications.