Abstract
The present investigation deals with the evaluation of the wound healing efficacy of sandalwood bark-derived carbon nanospheres loaded with curcumin-embedded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofiber membranes (NF). Carbon nanospheres (CNS) were prepared by pyrolyzing sandal wood bark powder at 750 °C. The morphology was confirmed by field emission scanning electron micrographs and a rich amount of carbon was confirmed by the energy dispersive X-ray technique. Curcumin, an active wound healing drug was loaded onto synthesized CNS and confirmed by ATR-IR studies. Drug-loaded CNS were anchored in a PVA matrix via electrospun nanofiber fabrication. The fabricated nanofiber membranes were characterized and evaluated for wound healing efficiency. The cytotoxicity assay proved the non-toxic nature of the prepared PVA/CNS-curcumin-loaded NF. Membranes with active CNS/drug showed better antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli, which was estimated using the zone of inhibition (ZOI) test. The in vitro scratch wound healing assay of prepared PVA/CNS-curcumin nanofibers was efficient enough and showed 92 to 98% wound closure, which was greater than the control (without drug) nanofiber membranes. The PVA nanofiber matrix with interconnected structure and carbon nanostructures together enhanced the wound healing efficacy of the considered wound healing membrane, which is a promising novel approach for future wound healing patches.