ABSTRACT
This study explores the feasibility of modifying the surface liquid spraying method to prepare porous bioscaffolds intended for wound dressing applications. For this purpose, gentamicin sulfate was loaded into polylactide-polyvinyl alcohol bioscaffolds as a highly soluble (hygroscopic) model drug for in vitro release study. Moreover, the influence of inorganic salts including NaCl (10 g/L) and KMnO4 (0.4 mg/L), and post-thermal treatment (T) (80 °C for 2 min) on the properties of the bioscaffolds were studied. The bioscaffolds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, other properties including porosity, swelling degree, water vapor transmission rate, entrapment efficiency, and the release of gentamicin sulfate were investigated. Results showed that high concentrations of NaCl (10 g/L) in the aqueous phase led to an increase of around 68% in the initial burst release due to the increase in porosity. In fact, porosity increased from 68.1 ± 1.2 to 94.1 ± 1.5. Moreover, the thermal treatment of the Polylactide-polyvinyl alcohol/NaCl (PLA-PVA/NaCl) bioscaffolds above glass transition temperature (Tg) reduced the initial burst release by approximately 11% and prolonged the release of the drug. These results suggest that thermal treatment of polymer above Tg can be an efficient approach for a sustained release.
