Citation: Virijevi´ c, K.; Markovi´ c, B.; Gruji´ c, J.; Jovanovi´ c, M.; Kastratovi´ c, N.; Živanovi´ c, M.; Nikoli´ c, D.; Filipovi´ c, N. Electrospun Poly(Lactic Acid)-Chitosan Nanofibers for Wound Healing Application. Eng. Proc. 2023, 31, 24. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/ASEC2022-13785 Academic Editor: Roger Narayan Published: 2 December 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Proceeding Paper Electrospun Poly(Lactic Acid)-Chitosan Nanofibers for Wound Healing Application † Katarina Virijevi´ c 1, * , Bojana Markovi´ c 2 , Jelena Gruji´ c 1 , Milena Jovanovi´ c 3 , Nikolina Kastratovi´ c 2 , Marko Živanovi´ c 1,4 , Dalibor Nikoli´ c 1,4 and Nenad Filipovi´ c 2,4 1 Institute for Information Technologies, University of Kragujevac, Jovana Cviji´ ca bb, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia 2 Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Sestre Janji´ c 6, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia 3 Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, Radoja Domanovi´ ca 12, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia 4 BioIRC-Bioengineering Research and Development Centre, Prvoslava Stojanovi´ ca 6, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia * Correspondence: msc.katarina.virijevic@gmail.com † Presented at the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Applied Sciences, 1–15 December 2022; Available online: https://asec2022.sciforum.net/. Abstract: Electrospun polymer-based nanofibers are of increasing interest in contemporary applied biomedicine. The challenge regarding modern surgery and tissue engineering is to discover a variety of manufactured scaffolds with improved properties that can replace and regenerate damaged skin and organs. The unique properties of polymer nanofibers, such as submicron and nanoscale diameters, large surface area, flexibility, etc., make them attractive objects for a wide range of applications. In this study, a combination of chitosan as a natural polymer and poly(lactic) acid as a synthetic polymer is studied with the aim of improving and accelerating the healing of skin wounds. Chitosan (Chi) is one of the most promising polymers for scaffold design, due to its high biodegradability, non- toxic, and antibacterial properties. On the other hand, poly(lactic) acid (PLA) possesses enhanced electrospinability potential and desirable mechanical strength. Therefore, the combination of Chi and PLA enhances the mutually superior properties of both. After optimizing the process parameters, imaging, and determining the diameter of the nanofibers, the scaffold potential for wound healing was investigated by in vitro scratch test on a healthy fibroblast cell line. The study concludes that ultrafine Chi:PLA nanofiber scaffolds have significant potential to regenerate and restore damaged tissue under in vitro conditions. Keywords: electrospinning; biomedical application; tissue engineering; nanofibers; polymers 1. Introduction Relatively rapid wound healing is a time factor that significantly contributes to the improvement of modern humanity’s quality of life. A shorter recovery period from injuries contributes to shorter hospital stays, reduced needs for hospital resources, fewer infections, and faster returns of patients to regular work and other life activities. Scientific break- throughs in regenerative medicine are therefore critical to the effective and high-quality functioning of modern society. Regenerative medicine is increasingly focusing on techniques for creating nanofibers that mimic the natural structures of tissues and organs. In this regard, electrospinning is one of the most widely used techniques. This cutting-edge bioengineering technique generates nanofibers from synthetic or natural polymers. The resulting polymers form matrices (scaffolds) with optimal properties for imitating natural tissues and are used for tissue regeneration and/or organ replacement. The polymer materials are commonly used to create multifunctional matrices for wound healing treatments [1]. A synthetic polymer such as PLA is a biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic polymer material that is commonly used in the tissue en- gineering field [1]. On the other hand, the natural polysaccharide Chi is gaining more Eng. Proc. 2023, 31, 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ASEC2022-13785 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/engproc