Enhanced chitosan fibres for skin regeneration: solution blow spinning and incorporation with platelet lysate and tannic acid

In this study, we developed and characterised enhanced chitosan/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibre scaffolds using solution blow spinning (SBS) for potential application in skin tissue engineering. SBS enabled the efficient and scalable production of fibre matrices with precise morphology control, facilitating the integration of PEO to improve spinnability, 100X the speed of electron spinning. Following fabrication, fibres were subjected to potassium carbonate neutralisation to reduce PEO content, improving chitosan stability in aqueous environments. Characterisation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) confirmed structural integrity post-neutralisation and the successful incorporation with bioactive additives. Platelet lysate (PL) was incorporated to introduce growth factors, and tannic acid (TA) was added for antibacterial properties and enhanced mechanical stability through potential crosslinking. Mechanical testing showed that the optimised PL- and TA-enriched scaffolds exhibited the highest mechanical performance, with Young's modulus of 7.0 ± 0.6 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 26.4 ± 2.3 MPa, elongation at break of 16.5 ± 1.7%, and toughness of 3.0 ± 0.3 MJ m−3 which is within the range of human skin. At the same time, SEM and ATR-FTIR analyses confirmed the stability and distribution of these functional agents within the fibre network. Biocompatibility tests with normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) indicated low cytotoxicity, appropriate cell adhesion and proliferation over 14 days in culture, suggesting these scaffolds as promising candidates for wound healing and skin regeneration applications.