Direct ink write 3D printed poly (ethylene oxide)/ Guar gum/ lawsone scaffolds for burn care applications

Abstract

Burn is one of the leading causes of trauma worldwide, with significantly higher mortality rates in third-world countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide dynamic solutions to treat burns, particularly for third-degree burn patients. The ideal skin patch should exhibit excellent water retention, mechanical strength, regeneration potential (angiogenesis), and inhibition to the growth of the bacteria. Herein, we proposed a 3D printed lawsone loaded polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Guar gum (GG) scaffold as a potential candidate for burn care application. This study mainly focuses on the synthesis, material characterization, lawsone release kinetics, scaffold degradation and cytocompatibility with the human dermal fibroblast cells. The lawsone-loaded PEO/GG scaffolds exhibited favorable porosity for skin regeneration application. Fourier Transform Infrared analysis confirmed the crosslinking between PEO and GG via C-O-C linkage and incorporated lawsone. The degradation kinetics of the fabricated scaffolds were studied in order to confirm their suitability for skin regeneration applications. The lawsone was released in a sustained manner (∼64 % in 168 h) owing to the cross-linking between PEO and GG. The sustained release of Lawsone can provide long-term therapeutic effects. Moreover, the chorioallantoic membrane assay confirmed the pro-angiogenic behavior of the PEO/GG/lawsone scaffold. The fabricated scaffold inhibited the growth of bacterial strains, i.e., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, the fabricated PEO/GG and PEO/GG/lawsone scaffolds showed cytocompatibility to primary dermal fibroblasts. The results obtained during the initial in-vitro studies suggested that the PEO/GG scaffolds loaded with lawsone can further be tested under in-vivo conditions.