Abstract
Electrospun nanofibers are promising for wound interfaces but face challenges in combining structural stability, controlled therapeutic release, and optimal biological interactions. This work addresses these limitations by engineering poly (vinyl alcohol)/chitosan (PVA/CS) nanofibers through the synergistic incorporation of niacinamide (NA), polyethyleneimine (PEI), and vapor-phase glutaraldehyde crosslinking, with Triton X-100 added to optimize electrospinnability. Structural characterization revealed that NA/PEI integration increased the average fiber diameter from 114 ± 11.6 nm to 148 ± 18.8 nm, indicating enhanced intermolecular interactions, while FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed successful crosslinking and functional integration. Surface wettability was effectively tuned, reducing the water contact angle from 33.7° to 21.5°, yet the optimized membranes maintained a stable water vapor transmission rate of approximately 2450 g m−2 day−1, which is ideal for wound moisture balance. In-vitro drug release studies demonstrated sustained NA delivery predominantly governed by Fickian diffusion, with the best model fits being Higuchi (R² = 0.84) and Korsmeyer-Peppas (R² = 0.88, n = 0.33). More importantly, biological evaluations showed excellent cytocompatibility, as fibroblast viability approached 100% after 72 h, alongside significantly enhanced cell migration in scratch assays. Collectively, these results demonstrate that rational compositional engineering paired with vapor-phase crosslinking provides a robust strategy to correlate nanofiber composition with morphology, wettability, moisture regulation, and diffusion-controlled drug release. The developed PVA/CS/NA/PEI platform offers a structurally stable and functionally tunable biointerface, ultimately providing valuable design principles for advancing next-generation multifunctional electrospun biomaterials in wound management.
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