Phytol and metal oxide-loaded electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers for infection control and regenerative wound healing

Abstract

Bacterial infections of the integumentary system remain a major health concern, with carbapenem-resistant pathogens creating critical challenges in wound management. Conventional therapies often fail to combine infection control with tissue regeneration, emphasizing the need for advanced multifunctional dressings. In this study, we developed electrospun nanofibers were fabricated using polyvinylidene difluoride as polymer substrate loaded with phytol as a natural bioactive compound, and a combination of silver oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles as nanofiller ingredients. This novel composition was designed to combat drug resistant infection and promoting wound healing. The nanofibers were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. Physicochemical analyses confirmed uniform distribution of active components and favourable properties including swelling, flexibility, porosity, drug release properties and controlled degradation. In vitro biological studies revealed strong antibacterial activity, excellent hemocompatibility, and non-cytotoxicity toward HaCaT cells. Importantly, the nanofibers exhibited angiogenic potential in the chorioallantoic membrane assay and enhanced cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation in wound scratch experiments. Overall, the integration of phytol with metal oxide nanofillers in a PVDF matrix represents a novel approach to designing next-generation wound dressings. The developed electrospun nanofibers showed significant potential for accelerating tissue regeneration while addressing the urgent clinical need to control multidrug-resistant infections.