Iranian Journal of Polymer Science and Technology

Iranian Journal of Polymer Science and Technology

Conductive Nanofibrous Scaffolds Based on Tragacanth Gum, Polyaniline, and Poly(vinyl alcohol): Fabrication, Characterization and Exploring Their Potential Application in Skin Tissue Engineering

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Shila Najafian 1
Mehdi Jaymand 2
Bakhshali Massoumi 1
1 Department of Chemistry, Payame Noor University, P.O. Box 19395-4697, Tehran, Iran
2 (2) 2. Nano Drug Delivery Research Center, Health Technology Institute, (3) Student Research Committee, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Postal Code 67158-47141, Kermanshah, Iran
10.22063/jipst.2023.3391.2233
Abstract
Hypothesis: The skin is the largest organ and outer covering of the body, which acts as a barrier against microbial invasions as well as mechanical and chemical damage. But, sometimes the skin does not have the ability to regenerate the tissue on its own. In this context, tissue engineering (TE) is a promising and reconstructive solution for repairing serious skin tissue damage. This article refers to the importance of electerically conductive scaffolds based on tragacanth gum (TG) for skin TE owing to non-toxicity, metabolic compatibility, and the non-hazardous nature of its degradation products as well as the effect of electerical conductivity of the sacffold in performance of skin TE.
Methods: Electroconductive nanofibrous hydrogel scaffolds composed of tragacanth gam-polyaniline blend (TG-B-PANI) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were fabricated with a weight ratios of 30:70 and 20:80 by electrospinning method. Their physicochemical and biological properties for skin TE application were studied by various experiments.  
Findings: The fabricated scaffolds were tested using FTIR, SEM, TGA, UV-Vis, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). SEM images indicated the achievement of uniform fibers within their nano-scale domain. The cytocompatibility and cells proliferation characteristics of the scaffolds were approved by MTT assay using L929 mouse fibroblast cells. The fabricated scaffolds exhibited excellent hemocompatibility and human serum albomin adsorption capacity. The fabricated scaffolds showed proper physicochemical and biological properties for skin TE. The scaffold made with 20% (wt) of TG-B-PANI showed higher potential in adhesion and proliferation of L929 mouse fibroblast cells than those of scaffold with 30% (wt) of the above polymeric blend. 
Keywords
natural polymers
tragacanth gum
electrospinning
conductive polymeric scaffolds
skin tissue engineering
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Iranian Journal of Polymer Science and Technology
Volume 36, Issue 3 - Serial Number 185
September and October 2023
Pages 259-279