Hyaluronic acid, curcumin, and usnic acid are separately utilized as effective biological agents in medicine, and materials based on its blend are considered to have wider therapeutic effects than individual ones. In this study, for the first time, native hyaluronic acid-based fibers containing curcumin and usnic acid with an average diameter of 298 nm were successfully prepared by the electrospinning technique and characterized. Additionally, unstable and hydrophobic curcumin and usnic acid were loaded into the hydrophilic hyaluronic acid matrix without utilizing the activating (catalyzing) agents, resulting in the formation of an electrospinnable solution. Only the binary mixture deionized water—dimethyl sulfoxide (50:50)—was used as solvent. The presence of small amounts of dimethyl sulfoxide in the fibrous materials was expected to provide the materials with local anesthetic and antiseptic activity. The effect of electric voltage on the electrospinning process, diameter, and morphology of hyaluronic acid/curcumin/usnic acid fibers was investigated in detail. The impact of curcumin and usnic acid on the stability of fiber formation was observed. The investigation of fibers based on pure hyaluronic acid without additional polymers and with active pharmaceutical ingredients will lay the groundwork for the development of highly effective wound dressings and new drug delivery scaffolds.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring polymer that is found in variety of tissues and biological fluids. Due to its unique properties such as biodegradability and biocompatibility, HA can be applied in fabrication of nanofibers for tissue engineering and wound healing. Electrospinning as one of the methods of creating such structures allows to obtain fibers and particles with nano- and microscale from polymer solutions utilizing the high voltage power supply. However, the electrospinning process directly depends upon different parameters, including physical characteristics of the polymer solutions. This paper reviews physical properties of aqueous-organic HA solutions considering their suitability for electrospinning