Manufacturing and characterization of nanofibers de ALGINATE/SILK fibroin incorporated with pequi oil applied in the treatment of skin wounds

Abstract

In Brazil, skin lesions are a serious public health problem with regard to the high number of patients with some type of skin lesion. The large number of people with some type of ulcer or burn contributes to raising public spending on health, and also causes irreversible damage to the quality of life of the population. In this project, it is desired to use the knowledge of tissue engineering to produce bioactive electrospun blankets using two natural biopolymers (alginate and silk fibroin) in the form of a cutaneous dressing. However, silk fibroin when used in isolation in the preparation of a dressing has low physical-chemical and mechanical characteristics. In this context, alginate appears as a suitable candidate in the improvement of the swelling properties, mechanical resistance, permeability to water vapor and oxygen, hydrophilicity, fluid absorption and hemostatic capacity of the dressing. In addition, the knowledge of the chemical structures and the morphology of the blends, as well as the hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics of these compounds allows to obtain a cutaneous dressing with synergy in the physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal and biological properties. Regarding the antiinflammatory and healing properties, the current project proposes the incorporation of pequi oil in combination with the two natural polymers associated with the electrospinning technique to obtain cutaneous dressings that can be applied in the treatment of wounds. To date, little is known about the properties of alginate blends and silk fibroin incorporated with pequi oil produced by electrospinning, and such a study will certainly bring positive scientific and technological impacts. In view of this scenario, electrospun blankets of alginate / silk fibroin blend incorporated with pequi oil, present as promising low-cost cutaneous dressings with high technological performance and that can be applied in the treatment of wounds and burns.