Mesh infection is a major complication of hernia surgery after polypropylene (PP) mesh implantation. Modifying the PP mesh with antibacterial drugs is an effective way to reduce the chance of infection, but the hydrophobic characteristic of PP fibers has obstructed the drug adhesion. Therefore, to prepare antimicrobial PP mesh with a stable drug coating layer and to slow the drug release property during the hernia repair process has a great practical meaning. In this work, PP meshes were coated by bio-inspired polydopamine (PDA), which can load and release levofloxacin. PP meshes were activated with cold oxygen plasma and then plasma activated PP fibers were coated with PDA. The PDA coated meshes were further soaked in levofloxacin. The levofloxacin loaded PP meshes demonstrate excellent antimicrobial properties for 6 days and the drug release has lasted for at least 24 h. Moreover, a control PP mesh sample without plasma treatment was also prepared, after coating with PDA and loading levofloxacin. The antimicrobial property was sustained only for two days. The maximum inhibition zone of PDA coated meshes with and without plasma treatment was 12.5 and 9 mm, respectively. On all accounts, the modification strategy can facilely lead to long-term property of infection prevention.

As a promising agent for biomedical application, collagen has been used as a nanofiber to architecturally mimic its fibrillar structure in Extracellular Matrix (ECM); however, it has to be modified by techniques, such as crosslinking, to overcome its limitations in structural stability along with potential toxicity. Here, we prepared collagen/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibrous membranes with varying crosslinking degrees and their properties, such as water stability, mechanical properties, blood clotting capacity and cytocompatibility, were studied systematically. By investigating the relationship between crosslinking degree and their properties, nanofibrous membranes with improved morphology retention, blood clotting capacity and cytocompatibility have been achieved. The result of circular dichroism measurement demonstrated that a triple helical fraction around 60.5% was retained. Moreover, the electrospun collagen/PEO at crosslinking degrees above 60.6% could maintain more than 72% of its original weight and its nanofibrous morphology under physiological conditions could be well preserved for up to 7 days. Furthermore, the crosslinked collagen/PEO membrane could provide a more friendly and suitable environment to promote cell proliferation, and about 70% of the clot can be formed in 5 min. With its superior performance in water stability, hemostasis and cytocompatibility, we anticipate that this nanofibrous membrane has great potential for wound dressing.