Electrospinning of in situ crosslinked recombinant human collagen peptide/chitosan nanofibers for wound healing

近日，南京理工大学杨树林教授课题组采用在温和的乙酸水溶液中添加聚环氧乙烷（PEO），以1-乙基-3-（3-二甲基氨基丙基）碳二亚胺盐酸盐（EDC）作为化学交联剂，使纤维发生原位交联，成功制备了RHC /壳聚糖纳米纤维。

　　Electrospun collagen nanofibers are effective for wound healing; however, many problems, such as the tedious preparation process, weak strength and poor structure integration, limit further applications. In this study, recombinant human collagen (RHC) peptides and a simple one-step crosslinking strategy were used to prepare RHC/chitosan nanofibers. With the nonpathogenic, water-soluble RHC and a mild electrospinning solvent, in situ crosslinked nanofibers (S-CN) not only simplified the preparation procedure but also maintained a more integrated morphology. Compared with the immersed crosslinked nanofibers (I-CN), S-CN showed better performance in moisture retention, degradation and mechanical strength tests. In vitro cell proliferation, morphology and RT-PCR studies confirmed that fibroblasts presented better activities on nanofibers crosslinked in situ. Importantly, after treating with the nanofibers, rapid epidermidalization and angiogenesis were observed in an SD rat scalding model. All these data suggest that electrospun RHC/chitosan nanofibers crosslinked in situ are an ideal candidate that can be used for wound healing applications.