This review article summarises and discusses the recent developments in different biomedical applications of electrospun chitosan nanofibers.

Wound healing is an unresolved therapeutic challenge for the medical community, as wound assessment and management is a complex procedure involving numerous factors that play a significant role in the healing process. Several factors, including bacterial infections, underlying conditions, malnutrition, obesity, aging, and smoking are the most frequent causes of a delayed wound-healing process. The shortcomings related to the currently used wound dressings include poor antimicrobial properties, weak mechanical features, poor biodegradability, biocompatibility, etc. Modern medicine has expanded the use of phytoconstituents based on nanotechnology to regenerate and repair soft and hard tissues. Electrospun nanofiber platforms are the most recent and promising among many types of conventional wound dressings due to their distinct characteristics. Many plant extracts and their phytoconstituents are well-known as adequate substitutes for wound healing agents because of their wide range of active ingredients, accessibility, and limited side effects. Incorporating these phytoconstituents into electrospun nanofibers combines the structural properties of the nanofibers with the antibacterial and therapeutic properties of the plants, making the nanofibers ideal for use as wound dressings. This review focuses on the antibacterial and therapeutic applications of nanofiber wound dressings containing phytoconstituents and their potential to revolutionize wound healing.

The first discovery of aggregation-induced emission (AIE), whereby luminogen aggregation plays a positive role in enhancing the light-emission efficiency, has piqued the interest of many researchers as it opens up a new avenue for the exploration of practically beneficial luminescent materials. Diverse AIE-active luminogens (or AIEgens) with tunable emission colours and very high quantum yields (up to unity) in the solid state have been extensively utilised in a broad range of fields including optoelectronics, energy and bioscience. In this article, we describe novel fluorene-based fluorogens that exhibit bright emission in the solid-state, mechanical stimuli-responsive optical properties and aggregation-induced emissive ability, and were able to modulate their donor and acceptor properties. The target compounds were synthesized by a Knoevenagel condensation followed by Suzuki cross-coupling reaction, which tends to result in good yields. The target cyanostilbenes (4a–4d) show different reversibly switched states with high contrast through morphology modulation and demonstrate solvatochromic, vapochromic, and AIE properties. These results strongly suggest that compound 4d has better properties than the other derivatives (4a–c) due to the presence of extended donor–acceptor ability. Moreover, density-functional theory (DFT) calculations strongly support the UV-Vis and fluorescence spectral studies. The formation of nano-flakes and cuboid-shaped nanocrystals was further confirmed by FE-SEM and AFM studies. The synthesized compound 4d displayed very bright emission in the solid state and in the aggregate state as compared with the other derivatives (4a–4c). These results might be due to the presence of high-color contrast, which is an advantage for elucidation and overcomes the challenges exhibited in live-cell imaging applications. Moreover, an MTT assay on live A549 cells incubated with the target compound (4d) showed very low cytotoxicity even at high concentrations.

Chronic wounds impose a significant burden on individuals and healthcare systems all over the world. Through clinical and preclinical investigations, inflammation and oxidative damage have been established as the primary causes of chronic wounds. These skin sores are easily exposed to microorganisms, which in turn cause inflammation and hinder the healing process. Additionally, microorganisms may cause an infection that prevents collagen production and reepithelialization. Curcumin’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-infectious characteristics, among others, have been identified as useful for diabetic wound healing management. However, curcumin has a few disadvantages, such as limited bioavailability, pH-dependent instability, water insolubility, slow cell absorption, and fast intracellular metabolism. These constraints necessitates the development of a suitable transporter to improve curcumin’s stability, bioavailability, therapeutic efficacy, and solubility. In recent years, Electrospun nanofiber mats have been an excellent choice for drug delivery because of their numerous advantages and inherent properties. Electrospun nanofibers have shown considerable promise as wound dressing materials. This review highlights the potential properties and recent advancements in using curcumin-loaded nanofibers for diabetic wound healing.

Versatile gelatin nanofibers: revolutionizing biomedical innovations.