PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATION

2026

Electrospun Multilayer Scaffolds Based on Poly (L-Lactic Acid) and Poly (Acrylonitrile) Reinforced with CaO Nanoparticles for Enhanced Skin Regeneration and Wound Healing

Rivera E, Montoille L, et al.

Polymers

Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad de Las Américas, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Yachay Tech University, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial

RESEARCH SUMMARY
This study developed electrospun single-layer and multilayer wound-healing scaffolds based on poly (L-lactic acid) and polyacrylonitrile reinforced with calcium oxide nanoparticles to evaluate how composition and layer sequence affect structural, mechanical, antibacterial, and regenerative performance. The multilayer systems formed integrated five-layer architectures with continuous interfaces between PLA and PAN regions, while CaO incorporation increased surface area, introduced mesoporosity, and modified wettability. Mechanical testing showed that neat PLA was highly deformable but weak, whereas PAN was stiffer and stronger but less extensible; the multilayer hybrids produced intermediate mechanical behaviour that better balanced flexibility and strength. The PLA/PAN/CaO multilayer scaffold showed the best overall biological performance, with strong antibacterial effects against both S. aureus and E. coli, high HaCaT keratinocyte viability, faster in vitro scratch closure, and favorable in vivo subdermal biocompatibility with cellular infiltration, angiogenic response, and connective tissue integration. Overall, the work demonstrates that multilayer electrospinning of PLA, PAN, and CaO can generate bioactive wound dressings with coordinated mechanical and biological properties for skin regeneration.

CELLSCALE INSTRUMENT USED

BioTester

Mechanical characterization of the electrospun mats was performed using a CellScale BioTester 5000. Rectangular specimens from each scaffold formulation were excised from different regions of the mats and tested with a 10 N load cell following ASTM D882-12 for thin plastic films. Samples were gripped and pulled at a constant crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min, and each test was stopped when the measured force had dropped by 10% from the ultimate tensile strength. Force-displacement data were converted to engineering stress-strain curves, and the authors extracted Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile strength, deformation at UTS, and toughness. The BioTester results showed that pure PLA was compliant and highly extensible, PAN was stiff and strong, and the multilayer PLA/PAN/CaO and PAN/PLA/CaO architectures produced intermediate moduli of about 10–11 MPa that bridged the mechanical gap between the two polymers. These measurements were central to showing that multilayer scaffold design can tune tensile behaviour toward a more balanced wound dressing material profile while maintaining structural integration.
AUTHORS

Eugenio Rivera, Lissette Montoille, Fabián Guajardo, Fabian Álvarez-Carrasco, Sebastián Romero, Mauricio Gómez-Barrena, Esmeralda Lopez, Carlos Loyo, Claudio García-Herrera, Paula A. Zapata, Diana Zárate-Triviño, Juan José Martinez, Daniel A. Canales.

PUBLICATION DETAILS
JOURNAL

Polymers

YEAR

2026

INSTITUTIONS

Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad de Las Américas, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Yachay Tech University, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial

COUNTRIES

Chile, Ecuador, Mexico

INSTRUMENT USED

BioTester

TESTING METHODS

Tensile Testing

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS

Scaffold Mechanical TestingSkin and Wound Healing Biomechanics

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