Effect of silk fibroin nanofibers containing silver sulfadiazine on wound healing

Background: One of the promising applications of silk fibroin (SF) in biomedical engineering is its use as a scaffolding material for skin regeneration. The purpose of this study was to determine the wound healing effect of SF nanofibrous matrices containing silver sulfadiazine (SSD) wound dressings. Methods: An SF nanofibrous matrix containing SSD was prepared by electrospinning. The cell attachment and spreading of normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) and normal human epidermal fibroblasts (NHEF) to SF nanofibers containing three different concentrations of SSD contents (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%) were determined. In addition, a rat wound model was used in this study to determine the wound healing effect of SF nanofibers containing SSD compared with that of Acticoat T, a commercially available wound dressing. Results: The number of NHEK and NHEF attached to SF nanofibers containing SSD decreased when the concentration of SSD increased. The number of attached NHEF cells was lower than that of attached NHEK cells. The SF matrix with 1.0 wt% SSD produced faster wound healing than Acticoat (TM) although 1.0 wt% SSD inhibited the attachment of epidermal cells to SF nanofibers in vitro. Conclusion: The cytotoxic effects of SF nanofibers with SSD should be considered in the development of silver-release dressings for wound healing through its antimicrobial activity. It is challenging to design wound dressings that maximize antimicrobial activity and minimize cellular toxicity.