Marziyeh Ranjbar-Mohammadi

In this research, the scaffolds from gum tragacanth (GT), poly (Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), were fabricated by electrospinning method for use in the healing of diabetic ulcers. At first, three different compositions from PCL-GT-PVA with blend ratios of (2:1:0.5), (2:1:0.8) and (2:1:1.5) were fabricated and the formulation 2:1:0.8 was selected as proper one. Then, the effect of changing GT concentration on the morphology of nanofibers was checked. For this, two different compositions from PCL-GT- PVA (2:1.5:0.8) and (2:2.2:0.8) were electrospun and their morphology was compared with PCL-GT (2:2.2) structure. The results showed that the ratio of (2:2.2:0.8) with more GT in its structure and the mean diameter of 130 ± 19 nm was appropriate one. Since the PCL-GT (2:2.2) formulation was not capable of forming proper fibers, the PCL-GT (2:1) composition was prepared and used for better comparison of PCL-GT-PVA and PCL-GT specimens in subsequent tests. PCL-GT-PVA nanofibers exhibited tensile strength and young modulus about 2.7 and 56 MPa, respectively. Mesenchymal stem cells on the scaffolds demonstrated attachment and proliferation of cells. Histological analyses of substrates containing stem cells into rats with diabetic ulcers exhibited tissue repair and regeneration including re-epithelization and collagen formation after 15 days. We conclude that the fabricated nanofibers with excellent mechanical and biological characteristics are promising scaffolds in wound healing of diabetic ulcers.