A sandwich electrospun nanofibers/Tragacanth hydrogel composite containing Aloe vera extract and silver sulfadiazine as a wound dressing

In the present study, a sandwich electrospun nanofibers/tragacanth hydrogel composite containing Aloe vera extract and silver sulfadiazine was prepared. The potential application was considered as a wound dressing. The first layer was prepared from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by electrospinning method with thick diameter. The second layer was prepared by spraying a thin layer of tragacanth gum (TG) hydrogel containing silver sulfadiazine (SSD) and Aloe vera (AV) on the electrospun nanofibers. The properties of the electrospun nanofibers were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, other properties such as mechanical properties, swelling ratio, cell viability were evaluated. SEM micrographs show smooth, beadles nanofibers, and a uniform layer of hydrogel was sprayed on the nanofibers. Adding 10% Aloe vera to TG increased the percentage of swelling compared to unmodified samples. Nanofibers have strong mechanical properties. The Young's modulus of sandwich dressing was increased. The cytotoxicity assay of a sandwich electrospun nanofibers/tragacanth hydrogel composite shows that it has no cytotoxicity toward human dermal fibroblasts (HDF), therefore confirming their cytocompatibility.