Characterization, Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Electrospun poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) Containing Aquilaria Malaccencis Leaf Extract (ALEX) Nanofibers

Plant-based electrospun nanofibers are widely fabricated as wound dressing in recent years primarily due to the presence of bioactive compounds which can facilitate the wound healing effects. In this study, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) fibre mats containing Aquilaria malaccensis leaf extract (ALEX) [5, 10 and 15 %(w/w)] were fabricated by electrospinning method as potential wound dressing material. The nanofibers were uniform, beadless and randomly oriented with average diameters ranged between 195.27 – 281.20 nm. The presence of ALEX in the PVA nanofibers were evaluated by Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The mechanical properties, swelling degree and weight loss of nanofiber mats were also determined. ALEX was rapidly released from the ALEX-loaded PVA nanofibers in the first 12 hours and increased gradually afterwards. The released rate of ALEX was dependent on the ALEX content in the PVA nanofibers. This result is also contributed by the swelling degree and porosity of the nanofibers where the results were found to be between 241.66 – 305.86% and 64.53 – 30.81%, respectively. Meanwhile, the tensile stress and maximum elongation at break for all electrospun nanofiber mats were in the range of 8.56 – 2.68 MPa and 205.94 – 166.31%, respectively. The nanofiber mats inhibited growth of Escherichia coli, Vibrio vulnificus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus with zone of inhibition of 7.5 - 15.0 mm for gram positive bacteria and 6.1 - 11.7 mm for gram negative bacteria. ALEX-loaded PVA nanofibers also showed potent anti-inflammatory activity against lipoxygenase with percentage of inhibition between 80.887 – 86.977%. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that ALEX-loaded PVA nanofibers have the desired properties of bioactive wound dressing.