Nor Naimah Hussin, Jayarama Reddy Venugopal, Thong Chuan Lee, Siti Aisyah Mohamad

and Noor Suhana Adzahar

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IN VITRO CYTOCOMPATIBILITY ASSESSMENT OF PSIDIUM GUAJAVA ESSENTIAL OIL-INCORPORATED NANOFIBROUS SCAFFOLDS

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Abstract 

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Electrospun nanofibers have emerged as promising biomaterials for wound healing due to their high surface area and extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimicking properties. This study investigates the in vitro gap closure and in vitro cytocompatibility of electrospun nanofibers fabricated from polycaprolactone (PCL), cellulose acetate (CA), loaded with 10% (w/w) Psidium guajava essential oil (EO) with and without gelatin (GEL). The nanofibers were fabricated using electrospinning. Human dermal fibroblasts were cultured on the scaffolds, and cytocompatibility was evaluated through metabolic activity assays. Fabrication of the scaffolds mean fibre diameters were 223 ± 107 nm (PCL/CA/EO) and 150 ± 55 nm (PCL/CA/GEL/EO), against 120 ± 42 nm for PCL/CA. In vitro cell culture studies confirmed the cytocompatibility of both EO loaded scaffolds. The cell viability assay revealed by day three significantly higher metabolic activity on PCL/CA/GEL/PGEO and PCL/CA/PGEO nanofibers compared to control. The scratch assay demonstrated enhanced cell migration and faster gap closure in the presence of EO at 8h, indicating its role in promoting tissue regeneration. Additionally, the preliminary crystal violet staining assays further visually indicated that modifying the hydrophobic PCL/CA/EO scaffold with gelatin (PCL/CA/GEL/EO) effectively restored early cell adhesion. These findings suggest that PCL/CA/GEL/EO nanofibers hold great potential as bioactive wound dressing materials that support tissue regeneration and wound healing applications.

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