Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)/Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) Biohybrid Nanofibers Coated with a Biomineralized Calcium Deficient Hydroxyapatite (HA) Shell for Wound Dressing

Here, for the first time, a nanofibrous (NF) wound dressing is developed based on biomineralized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers. In contrast to the majority of the currently available nanofibrous wound dressings that are based on natural polymers, PAN employed in this study is a synthetic, industrial polymer that has rarely been considered for this purpose. PAN NFs are first hydrolyzed to allow for tethering of biofunctional agents (here Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)). Later, the biofunctionlized PAN NFs are induced to biomineralize by immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). As a result, core-shell, calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (HA)/BSA/PAN nanofibers form, that are larger in diameter (318 vs. 298 nm) and mechanically stronger (elastic modulus; 8.5 vs. 6 MPa) compared to the untreated PAN NFs. The biomineralized PAN NFs showed promising bioactivity as reflected in the cell biology tests with fibroblast and keratinocyte cells. Hs68 fibroblasts and HaCat keratinocytes were found to be more viable in the presence of the biomineralized NFs than when they were co-cultured with the neat PAN NFs. Such mechanical and biological characteristics of the novel PAN NFs are favorable for wound dressing applications. More importantly, given the simple and cost-effective surface treatment approach presented here and the widely available knowledge for large scale, industrial processing of PAN, the present nanofibrous material holds promise for medical translation and further investigations leading to commercialization strategies.