Electrospinning Proteins for Wound Healing: History
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In recent years, there has been a growing interest for electrospun polymeric wound dressings with fiber diameters in the nano- and micrometer range. Such wound dressings display a number of properties, which support and accelerate wound healing. For instance, they provide physical and mechanical protection, exhibit a high surface area, allow gas exchange, are cytocompatible and biodegradable, resemble the structure of the native extracellular matrix, and deliver antibacterial agents locally into the wound.

  • antibacterial
  • antimicrobial
  • biomaterial
  • infection
  • microfibers
  • nanofibers
  • scaffold
  • tissue engineering
  • wound dressing

1. Introduction

The wound healing process is associated with four overlapping and well-orchestrated stages: homeostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling. Each stage involves a cascade of events to ensure prevention of blood loss, elimination of bacterial contamination, regeneration and formation of a new skin tissue, respectively. A variation from the norm in this process results in a delay or prolongation of any of the healing stages, which in turn leads to impaired healing [1]. The interruption in the healing process may occur for a number of reasons connected to one’s lifestyle and health condition. For example, smoking, malnutrition, obesity, low mobility, neuropathy, diabetes, vascular diseases and skin disorders have been linked to the increasing chronicity of wounds, where healing has not been achieved within 3–6 weeks [2,3,4].

Compromised wound healing represents a complex problem of multiple dependent molecular and cellular processes that are closely intertwined. A slight dysregulation in those processes leads to a development of a chronic non-healing condition, which requires a combinational approach of diverse strategies to facilitate healing. Different polymeric wound dressings have been created to supply favorable environment for wound healing, to absorb exudate, allow vapor exchange across the scaffold, maintain moist conditions, provide mechanical support and protect from further bacterial contamination. Such wound dressings have also been employed to deliver active agents such as antibiotics, antiseptics, anti-inflammatory drugs and biomolecules to direct the healing process to reach complete healing [5,6] (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Functions of protein-based nanofibrous mats with incorporated antimicrobial agents for wound healing. They allow fibroblast adhesion (often through cell-recognizing motifs the fiber carries), oxygen exchange and show bacteriostatic or bactericidal activity.

The leading causes of non-healing chronic wounds are infection, pathological inflammation and formation of biofilms [2,6]. Therefore, wound care usually comprises of debridement followed by antimicrobial treatment and application of wound dressings. Debridement is required to clean the wound bed from exudate, necrotic tissue and bacterial load. Antimicrobial treatment prevents further bacterial growth and formation of biofilms. Antimicrobial agents usually follow one or several strategies to attack bacterial cells, including disruption of the bacterial cell wall, interruption of nucleic acid and protein synthesis, and dysregulation of metabolic pathways [7] (Figure 1). Antiseptics, antibiotics or other biomolecules are either applied directly or incorporated into a wound dressing [6]. In comparison to systemic administration of antimicrobial treatments, topical application requires lower concentrations, displays fewer side effects and lowers the risk of developing antibiotic resistance [6,8]. Topical application of antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics often combines a rapid initial release to kill bacteria or inhibit bacterial growth followed by a slower release to prevent further bacterial growth [9]. In order to prevent development of microbial resistance to antibiotics, silver nanoparticles have been used in certain materials for wound healing instead of antibiotics. However, recent studies demonstrate that bacterial resistance also occurs against silver nanoparticles due to an induction of nanoparticle aggregation as a result of the production of adhesive proteins by the bacteria. This problem can be overcome by additional stabilization of the nanoparticles by surfactants or polymers [10,11].

A variety of wound dressings facilitating wound healing are currently available on the market and new advanced materials are being developed (e.g., films, hydrogels, foams, hydrocolloids and nanoparticles). In particular, large research efforts have been directed to fabricate nanofibers [5,12,13]. Unlike other types of biomaterials, nanofibers stand out due to their unique structure and the tunability of their physical and mechanical properties. Their versatility and the easy fabrication process facilitate obtaining materials with desired characteristics for the complex wound healing process. High surface area and homogenous drug distribution makes nanofibers attractive as drug delivery systems with high drug loading capacity and controlled release. Resemblance of nanofibers to collagen or elastin fibers in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of healthy skin allows them to provide additional support for fibroblasts and keratinocytes, which adhere to the fibers, migrate across the wound bed and help regenerate and close the damaged tissue. Modifications of the surface morphology of nanofibers and the porosity of the nanofibrous matrix further promote adherence and migration of these cells [12] (Figure 1). However, even though electrospun fibers are often have a high porosity, this property is dependent on the fiber diameter and is difficult to control. This may also limit cell penetration into the scaffold in some cases [14].

A variety of methods to fabricate fibers have been developed over the years and mainly include solution and melt electrospinning [15]. This review focuses on nanofibers created from protein solutions using the solution electrospinning process. Electrospinning is based on applying a high voltage to a polymer solution to transform a drop at the needle tip into a cone shape in order to generate a jet. The ejected jet undergoes a number of instabilities, during which the solvent from the solution is evaporated and dry fibers are collected on the grounded or oppositely charged plate. The process is shown in Figure 2. The morphology, diameter size and distribution of electrospun fibers can be adjusted and tuned according to the solution (e.g., concentration, molecular weight, viscosity, conductivity, surface tension, dielectric constant, evaporation rate and dipole moment) and process parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, flow rate, voltage and working distance) [16]. For example, larger fiber diameter is often associated with higher flow rate, higher applied voltage and lower distance between the needle tip and the collector. However, there are exceptions to these rules as for instance a higher voltage may lead to more solution deposition [15]. Therefore both, the properties of the solution and the process parameters should be considered during optimization of the electrospinning process [16].

Figure 2. Electrospinning process. A polymer solution is subjected to a high voltage output to create a polymer jet that deposits as dry fibers on the collector.

The most widely used type of solution electrospinning is single-nozzle electrospinning (also known as blend electrospinning), which itself has a few subcategories with some variations including co-axial and emulsion electrospinning [15]. These techniques are commonly employed to incorporate drugs, including active biomolecules, and are summarized in Figure 3. In blend electrospinning, the drug is mixed into the polymer solution—in this case the protein solution—directly. In contrast, in co-axial electrospinning two different solutions are used, and the drug is incorporated either in the outer (shell) or inner (core) solution [17]. Additionally, the drug can be incorporated into an emulsion to be electrospun, where the final product is similar to that obtained by co-axial electrospinning due to the lengthening of the emulsion within the jet, which creates a core-shell structure [18,19]. The electrospinning technique is chosen depending on the solubility of the polymer in a particular solvent, as well as its stability during the electrospinning process and the desired release kinetics of the electrospun nanofibers. During blend electrospinning, organic and sometimes highly toxic solvents are commonly used and may affect structure, stability and activity of the drug. Therefore, co-axial and emulsion electrospinning provide an alternative, where the drug can be dissolved in a more favorable solvent [20,21,22,23]. Nevertheless, all of these techniques involve high voltage, which may potentially damage the therapeutic agent [22,23]. In such a case, there is another method that is based on a functionalization of the nanofiber surface after electrospinning by attachment of the drug (Figure 3). However, a drawback of functionalization of the fibers as compared to other methods, where the drug is incorporated into the fibers, is that the drug lacks a coating material, which normally acts as a protective layer to provide longer shelf life [21].

Figure 3. Fabrication of protein-based electrospun fiber mats by different types of solution electrospinning, namely blend, co-axial and emulsion electrospinning. The protein is first dissolved in a volatile solvent and starts unfolding, which is a prerequisite for successful electrospinning of proteins. In blend electrospinning, the active agent is directly added to the polymeric protein solution. In co-axial electrospinning, the active agent is either dissolved in the shell or the core solution. In addition to the protein solution, a second natural or synthetic polymer is used in co-axial electrospinning. In emulsion electrospinning, the drug is dissolved in the emulsion droplets (inner phase). In addition, the fibrous mat can be functionalized by adding the active agent after electrospinning.

2. Proteins as a Promising Starting Material for Electrospun Wound Dressings

The initial use of synthetic polymers in electrospinning has noticeably shifted towards implementation of natural polymers such as proteins and carbohydrates [24]. In comparison to synthetic polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) [25] and polyurethane (PU) [26,27], natural polymers do not purely rely on the use of harsh and toxic organic solvents for dissolution. Therefore, they provide an environmentally friendly alternative, which may additionally offer better drug stability and activity as compared to pharmaceutical standard formulations, safer manufacturing and the possibility of an application on skin [28]. However, this comes at a cost of easy fabrication and reproducibility. Evaporation rate, surface tension and conductivity of the employed solvent greatly affect electrospinnability of the protein solution [15]. Moreover, electrospinning of proteins is more challenging due to the intrinsic variations in complexity of their structures, molecular weight, surface charge as well as ionic, hydrogen and disulfide bonds [29,30]. The electrospinnability of proteins depends not only on their solubility in a specific solvent, but also on the degree of protein unfolding in a particular solvent [29,31] and chain entanglement [31,32] (Figure 3). The choice of the solvent further affects crystallinity, mechanical properties, fiber size and morphology [29,31]. Therefore, the addition of synthetic polymers is often necessary to electrospin the solution continuously and without artifacts [24,33].

Proteins demonstrate attractive features as antimicrobial delivery system due to their natural origin, fast biodegradability and cytocompatibility [24,34]. Proteins used in electrospinning for wound healing applications are mainly obtained from two distinct sources: plants and animals [13,33]. Their stability, activity and degradation depend on the protein size, chemical structure, isolation and purification processes [5,35]. Different methods for protein extraction and purification may affect the obtained raw material’s purity and composition [5,36,37], which in turn impacts reproducibility of the electrospinning process and properties of the final product [38].

Some of the main differences between plant- and animal-based proteins are their availability and price. Plant proteins tend to be available in larger amounts and at a lower cost [31,34,39,40]. As compared to synthetic polymers, proteins are in general more challenging to electrospin due to their heterogeneity in structure and surface charge, solvent-dependent protein unfolding and low viscosity, which lead to a non-continuous electrospinning process and formation of beads [24,29]. Moreover, the final product may lack stability in water, resulting in a loss of fiber structure [41,42]. To compensate for these drawbacks, different strategies have been implemented that include the use of cross-linking agents, toxic organic solvents and addition of synthetic polymers [33].

3. Electrospinning of Plant-Derived Proteins for Wound Healing Purposes

Plant proteins that have been used to prepare electrospun wound dressings alone or in combination with other natural and/or synthetic polymers are summarized in Table 1. These include zein protein, soy protein and pea protein.

Table 1. Electrospun plant-based proteins with antimicrobial activity.

Protein

Co-Polymer

Electrospinning Type

Solvent

Antimicrobial Agent

Tested Bacterial Strain

Reference

Pea

PVA, CA

Uniaxial

Water

CA

E. coli, L. monocytogenes

[43]

Soy

PEO

Uniaxial

NaOH

None

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[44]

Zein

None

Co-axial

AA

ATPPB

E. coli, S. aureus

[45]

Zein

PU/CA

Uniaxial

DMF, MEK

Streptomycin

E. coli, S. typhimurium, V. vulnificus, S. aureus, B. subtilis

[26]

Zein

HA

Uniaxial

TFE, AA

Salicylic acid

S. aureus

[46]

Zein

PU

Uniaxial

DMF, THF

Ag NPs

E. coli, S. aureus

[27]

Zein

PCL, GA

Uniaxial

FA, AA

GA

E. coli, S. aureus

[47]

Zein

PCL, GA

Uniaxial, multilayer

FA, AA

GA, C. officinalis

E. coli, S. aureus

[48]

Zein

PCL

Uniaxial

TFE, DCM

Tetracycline hydrochloride

MRSA

[49]

Zein

None

Uniaxial

EtOH, water

Ag NPs

E. coli, S. aureus

[50]

Zein

None

Uniaxial

EtOH, water

Gentamicin

E. coli, S. aureus

[51]

Zein

None

Uniaxial

EtOH, water

Ag NPs

E. coli, Bacillus

[52]

Zein

None

Co-axial

EtOH, water

OEO

E. coli

[53]

Zein

PEO

Co-axial

EtOH, water

Tetracycline hydrochloride

E. coli, S. aureus

[54]

Zein

GT, PLA

Uniaxial

EtOH, water, CHL

Tetracycline hydrochloride

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[55]

Key: AA, acetic acid; ATPPB, allyltriphenylphosphonium bromide; CA, cinnamaldehyde; CHL, chloroform; DCM, dichloromethane; DMF, N,N-dimethylformamide; EtOH, ethanol; FA, formic acid; GA, gum arabic; GT, gum tragacanth; HA, hyaluronic acid; MEK, methyl ethyl ketone; MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus; NaOH, sodium hydroxide; OEO, orange essential oil; PLA, polylactic acid; PU, polyurethane; TFE, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol; THF, tetrahydrofuran.

4. Electrospinning Animal-Derived Proteins for Wound Healing Purposes

A lot of animal-derived proteins used in electrospinning are obtained from milk, including casein, whey, lactoferrin and lysozyme, or connective tissue, such as collagen and elastin. In comparison to plant-derived proteins that mostly require an incorporation of antimicrobial agents, proteins obtained from milk possess innate antimicrobial properties due to their iron-binding properties [96,97] and ability to disrupt bacterial cell walls [96,98]. Therefore, such proteins carry a dual function as a material basis with antimicrobial effect (Table 2).

Table 2. Electrospun animal-based proteins with antimicrobial activity.

Protein

Co-Polymer

Electrospinning Type

Solvent

Antimicrobial Agent

Tested bacterial Strain

Reference

Casein

PEO

Uniaxial

Water

Ampicillin

E. coli, S. aureus

[99]

α-lactoglobulin

PEO

Uniaxial

Water

Ampicillin

E. coli, P. aeruginosa, B. thailandensis

[107]

Lactoferrin

Gelatin

Uniaxial

FA, DMF

None

E. coli, S. aureus

[108]

Lysozyme

CS, PVA

Uniaxial

AA, water

CS

S. aureus, B. subtilis, S. flexnery, P. aeruginosa

[109]

Keratin

PVA, PEO

Uniaxial

NaOH

Ag NPs

E. coli, S. aureus

[110]

Keratin

CS, PHBA, gelatin

Uniaxial, multilayer

HFIP

Mupirocin

E. coli, S. aureus

[111]

Collagen

PLGA

Uniaxial, multilayer

HFIP

Vancomycin hydrochloride,gentamicin sulfate

E. coli, S. aureus

[112–114]

Collagen

PCL

Uniaxial

HFIP

Enterobacteria phage T4

E. coli

[115]

Collagen

PLA

Uniaxial

HFIP

Levofloxacin

E. coli, S. aureus

[25]

Collagen

-

Uniaxial

HFIP

Ag NPs

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[116]

Collagen

CS

Uniaxial

0.5 M AA

ZnO

S. aureus, E. coli

[117]

Collagen

PCL (core), PEO (shell)

Co-axial

HFIP, glacial AA

Doxycycline

n.a.

[118]

Gelatin

Alginate-dialde-hyde

Uniaxial

AA(40% w/w)

Ciprofloxacin, gentamicin

P. aeruginosa, S. epidermidis

[119]

Gelatin

-

Uniaxial

TFE

Vancomycin, caspofungin

MRSA, C. albicans

[120]

Gelatin

PMETAC

Uniaxial

FA, AA

PMETAC

S. aureus, E. coli, MRSA, A. baumannii

[121]

Gelatin

PVA

Uniaxial

FA

Centella asiatica extract

S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa

[122]

Silk sericin

CS

Uniaxial

TFA

CS

E. coli, B. subtilis

[123]

Silk sericin

PLLA

Uniaxial, multilayer

TFA

Nitrafurazone

E. coli, B. subtilis

[124]

Silk sericin

CS, PVA

Uniaxial

Water

Cephalexin hydrate

E. coli, B. subtilis

[125]

Silk fibroin

PCL

Uniaxial, multilayer

HFIP

CS

S. aureus, E. coli

[126]

Silk fibroin

-

Uniaxial

FA

Oleuropein

S. epidermidis, E. coli

[127]

Silk fibroin

CS

Uniaxial

HFIP, TFE

CS

S. aureus, E. coli

[128]

Silk fibroin, sulfated fibroin

PEI

Uniaxial

FA

PEI

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[129]

Silk fibroin

-

Uniaxial

FA

Ag NPs

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[130]

Silk fibroin

PVA

Uniaxial

Water

EGF, ciprofloxacin hydrochloride

S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa

[131]

Silk fibroin

PVA

Uniaxial

Water

LL-37 antimicrobial peptide, EGF

S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa

[132]

Silk fibroin

Gelatin

Uniaxial

FA

Thyme essential oil, doxycycline monohydrate

S. aureus, K. pneumoniae

[133]

Melamine-modified silk fibroin

PCL

Uniaxial

HFIP

Melamine-modified silk fibroin

S. aureus, E. coli

[134]

Silk fibroin

PEO

Uniaxial

FA

TiO2 NPs

E. coli

[135]

Silk fibroin

P(LLA-CL)

Uniaxial

HFIP

Curcumin

S. aureus

[136]

Silk fibroin

PCL, HA, PEO

Uniaxial, multilayer

FA, TFE, water

Thymol

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[137]

Silk fibroin

CS, halloysite nanotubes, PEO

Uniaxial

FA, AA, water

Chlorhexidine digluconate

S. aureus, E. coli

[138]

Silk fibroin

Gelatin

Uniaxial

FA

Ceftazidime

P. aeruginosa

[139]

Silk fibroin

 

Uniaxial

FA

Selenium NP coating

S. aureus

[140]

Silk fibroin

Carboxy-methyl CS coating

Uniaxial

HFIP, AA

Carboxymethyl CS coating

S. aureus, E. coli

[141]

Silk fibroin

 

Uniaxial

HFIP, FA

Ag NP coating

S. aureus, P. aeruginosa

[142]

Silk fibroin

 

Uniaxial

FA, water

Graphene oxide coating

S. aureus, E. coli

[143]

Silk fibroin

PEO

Uniaxial

Water

Manuka honey

MRSA, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. aureus

[144]

Silk fibroin

PEO

Uniaxial

Water

Cu2O NPs

S. aureus, E. coli

[145]

Key: AA, acetic acid; Ag NPs, silver nanoparticles; CS, chitosan; DMF, N,N-dimethylformamide; EGF, epidermal growth factor; FA, formic acid; HA, hyaluronic acid; HFIP, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol; MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus; NP, nanoparticle; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; PCL, polycaprolactone; PEI, polyethylenimine; PMETAC, poly([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammoniumchloride); PEO, polyethylene oxide; PHBA, poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid); PHBV, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate); PLLA, poly(L-lactic acid); P(LLA-CL), poly(L-lactic acid-co-e-caprolactone); TFA, trifluoroacetic acid; TFE, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/pharmaceutics13010004

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