Electrospun tetracycline hydrochloride loaded zein/gum tragacanth/poly lactic acid nanofibers for biomedical application Marjan Ghorbani a, ⁎ ,1 , Farideh Mahmoodzadeh b , Leila Yavari Maroufi c , Parinaz Nezhad-Mokhtari d a Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. b Halal Research Center of IRI, FDA, Tehran, Iran c Stem Cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran d Student Research Committee, Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Science, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran abstract article info Article history: Received 26 July 2020 Received in revised form 12 September 2020 Accepted 24 September 2020 Available online 08 October 2020 Keywords: Tetracycline hydrochloride Wound healing Nanofibrous scaffold Newly, fabrication of scaffolds along with the therapeutic agent of tetracycline hydrochloride for application in wound healing and anti-inflammatory effect could interest consideration. In this work, we developed a novel drug delivery mat composed of gum tragacanth (GT), zein, poly lactic acid (PLA) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) (zein/GT/PLA/TCH) in different blending ratios of zein/GT. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of mats showed interconnected pores with beadles nanofibers. The results of SEM showed that by increasing the ratio of zein/GT, the average diameter of nanofibers increased from 253.22 ± 15.36 to 547.78 ± 56.48 nm for the ratios of 80:20 and 90:10, respectively. Moreover, the successful loading of TCH and was approved by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). By addition of TCH and increas- ing the GT content to the developed nanofibrous mats, the tensile strength, swelling degree and porosity of zein/ GT/PLA/TCH nanofibers increased. Furthermore, this scaffold also displayed appropriate antibacterial properties and suitable degradability for skin tissue engineering. The results of cytocompatibility and SEM micrographs proved that zein/GT/PLA/TCH scaffold had promising proliferation and adhesion against NIH-3 T3 fibroblast cell. © 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. 1. Introduction Skin plays as one of the important organs in mammals due to the many activities, including self-healing, fluid homeostasis and defensive against external injuries [1,2]. So, damage or injury of skin is one of the major healthcare problems [2]. It has an amazing ability to regenerate itself; however, some infections can cause exudate formation and con- sequently leads to delay of wound healing. Therefore, inhibiting the wound infection may control the wound care. In this regards, some types are accessible all over the world to protect and treat wounds [3]. Use of nanofibrous wound healing products loaded with antibiotic drugs has significant interest for treatment of infections after tissue damages such as surgery, burn, or ulcers [4,5]. Several characteristics such as similarity to natural extra cellular matrix (ECM), acceptable me- chanical behavior, biocompatibility, suitable degradability, oxygen per- meability, the ability of cell proliferation, and exudate absorbability should be observed in ideal polymeric scaffold [4,6–9]. These nanofibrous scaffolds can be produced from natural polymers displayed unique bioactivity and excellent cellular affinity [10,11]. Due to the similarity of macromolecular structures to naturally occurring proteins in tissues and organs, protein-based biomaterials can be metabolized by physiological mechanisms [12–16]. Among various proteins, zein can use in the various biomedical applications due to the various inter- esting properties such as resistance to microbial attack, flexibility, com- pressibility, and antioxidant activity [17,18]. As reported in previous studies, it could be easily electrospun into fibers. Plant gums are obtained from the barks of many trees or plants wounded [19,20]. Gum tragacanth (GT) consisting of polysaccharides which are soluble or dispersed in water [21,22]. GT is an anionic carbo- hydrate complex, with heterogeneous structure and prominent struc- tural stability to high temperature, and acidity [23]. This biopolymer is biodegradable and biocompatible with no allergenic and adverse toxi- cological effects in non-allergic people [24,25]. Several literatures re- ported the application of GT in dressing for healing of burn wounds [23,25,26]. To possess better mechanical properties, synthetic materials can be used as a nano-fibrous backbone [27–29]. Among the synthetic poly- mers, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has been used with natural polymers to produce polymer blends with proper mechanical and biological applica- tions [30]. PLA is a biodegradable and biocompatible polyester exhibited excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Therefore, the electrospinning of PLA and GT with zein can improve the electrospinnability and provide the nanofibrous mets with better International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 165 (2020) 1312–1322 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ghorbanim@tbzmed.ac.ir, ghorbani.marjan65@yahoo.com (M. Ghorbani). 1 The authors contributed equally to this work. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.09.225 0141-8130/© 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Biological Macromolecules journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac