Curcumin-Loaded Electrospun Nanofiber as a Wound Healing Agent

Background: The turmeric plant is a herb belonging to the ginger family and has been used throughout history as a dietary spice and colouring agent in Indian and Chinese cuisines. In more recent times, curcumin has been studied extensively for its use as an anti-cancer, anti-ageing and wound healing agent. Recently studies have been focused on incorporating natural extracts with polymer-based electrospun nanofibers for various biomedical applications. Methods: Electrospinning is a technique for producing ultra-fine (in micros and nanos) fibres as a result of charging and ejecting a polymer melt or solution through a spinneret under a high voltage electric field (up to 30 kV) and solidifying or coagulating it to form a filament. Different materials (natural and synthetic) that have been used in the design and development of nanofiber wound dressings, and the various methods of in vitro and in vivo evaluation of wound dressing materials. Results and conclusion: The herbal drug encapsulated nanofibers with potential antibacterial property can be used as effective drug delivery system and in developing wound dressings for infants, elderly and infirm people to protect them against common infections. The produced electrospun nanofiber has great potential in biomedical applications. The loaded-herbal drug retained its biological functionality even after it had been subjected to a high electrical voltage, indicating that the medicated fibres developed by our system have the great potential in drug delivery, wound healing as well as promising materials for treating surfaces that contain pathogenic microorganisms, especially in the hospital environment.

Keywords:

Nanofibers , Herbal Medicine , Wound Dressing , Curcumin