Fabrication of nanofibrous membrane using stingless bee honey and curcumin for wound healing applications

Honey and curcumin were widely used both in modern and ancient medicines. The present research work focuses on developing an antibacterial, antioxidant, biocompatible, biodegradable, non-immunogenic, and completely natural, electrospun nanofibrous wound healing membrane using curcumin and Indian honey collected from different regions of Tamilnadu, belonging to the same species. A nanofibrous membrane was fabricated using the combination of Honey, Curcumin, and Gelatin. The fabricated membrane was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM) which showed the surface morphology and the average diameter of 159.08 +/- 53.88 nm of the nanofiber. The antioxidant property of the membrane was studied through scavenging the free radicals of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and Phosphomolybdenum assays. The developed membrane showed 500% swelling and the contact angle studies showed the surface wettability of the nanofiber. The membrane was also found to be cytocompatible, enhancing adhesion and proliferation using cell proliferation studies. The in-vitro wound scratch studies showed that the wound closure happened by 18 h when treated with L929 mouse fibroblast cells, justified using the excision wound model. Invitro kinetic studies showed a maximum release of both honey and curcumin achieved in 32 h for the membrane. The In-vivo wound healing studies demonstrated that the Honey and Curcumin loaded nanofibrous membrane indeed showed a better wound contraction of 89.05 +/- 0.47% in comparison with other samples tested.