Electroactive and antibacterial wound dressings based on Ti₃C₂T_x MXene/poly(ε-caprolactone)/gelatin coaxial electrospun nanofibrous membranes

Endogenous electric fields (EFs) are capable of regulating the behaviors of skin cells in wound healing. However, majority of current dressings are primarily engaged in the passive repair of defective tissue, as they lack the ability to actively respond to physiological electrical signals. In this work, a series of nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) were fabricated by coaxial electrospinning, combining the good mechanical properties of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), the bioactivity of gelatin and the electroactivity of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene, as electroactive and antibacterial dressings for cutaneous wound healing. The obtained NFMs exhibited suitable mechanical properties and hydrophilicity, excellent electroactivity, antibacterial activity, and biocompatibility. Especially, Ti₃C₂T_x MXene/PCL/gelatin-6 (MPG-6, 6 wt.% of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene in sheath spinning liquids) showed the optimal conductivity and antibacterial activity. Excitingly, this scaffold significantly promoted the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of NIH 3T3 cells under the electrical stimulation (ES). The in vivo evaluation in a full-thickness wounds defect model demonstrated that the MPG-6 films significantly accelerated wound closure, increased granulation tissue formation, increased collagen deposition, and promoted wound vascularization. In summary, the versatile scaffold is expected to be an ideal candidate as wound dressings due to its ability to promote the transmission of physiological electrical signals and thus improved the therapeutic outcomes of wound regeneration.