Fabrication of polyamide 6/honey/boric acid mats by electrohydrodynamic processes for wound healing applications

Abstract

In this study, polyamide 6, polyamide 6/honey, and polyamide 6/honey/boric acid nanofibrous mats were fabricated by electrospinning and electrospraying technique to be used in wound healing applications. The morphology and diameter of the fiber mats with and without honey and boric acid were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The morphology of fibers showed that all resulting fibers were in the nanometer range with 253–304 nm average fiber diameter. Fourier Transform Infrared spectrum (FT-IR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms showed the successful incorporation of honey and boric acid into the fibers. The results demonstrated that increasing the amount of boric acid slightly increased the fiber diameter. Moreover, boric acid incorporation enhanced the hydrophilicity of nanofibers. The wettability and thermal stability of fibers were quite suitable for wound healing applications. Antibacterial tests demonstrated that the polyamide 6/honey fiber was effective against Escherichia coli, while the polyamide 6/honey fibers loaded with boric acid at 5 and 10 wt% concentration were effective against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. However, the fibers had no antibacterial activity against Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The findings showed that polyamide 6/honey and polyamide 6/honey/boric acid nanofibrous scaffolds had desirable characteristics suitable for potential wound healing applications