Fabrication and characterization of polycaprolactone/chitosan/rosemary composite nanofibrous layers

The initial purpose of this study is to produce and characterize an electrospun composite nanofibrous layer of polycaprolactone/chitosan/rosemary. The effect of rosemary plant extract as an effective material in wound healing on characteristics of electrospun nanofibrous layers was investigated. In this study, different ratios of polycaprolactone: chitosan nanofibers are first electrospun, and the images obtained from the scanning electron microscope showed a uniform structure at the ratio of 60:40 polycaprolactone: chitosan nanofibers with an average diameter of 130 nm. The polycaprolactone/chitosan/rosemary nanofibers were electrospun with various percentages of the rosemary plant extract. According to the results, nanofibers' diameter increases with the percentage of rosemary from 130 to 209 nm for non-rosemary to 30% rosemary nanofibers, respectively. In addition, increasing rosemary in nanofibers due to the presence of hydroxyl groups increased the hydrophilicity of nanofibrous layers so that the layer containing 30% rosemary absorbs up to 5 times of its weight. The rosemary release diagram showed that the release follows a first-degree mathematical type, and its propagation follows the law of Fick. The results conclude that the polycaprolactone/chitosan/rosemary composite nanofibrous layers have excellent and appropriate characteristics for wound dressing and healing.