BCS II/IV antibiotics blended with SPEEK nanofibrous mat as an alternative for recurrent wound care: An in vitro and in vivo assessment

The repeated dressing changes, especially for infected wounds and those with high exudate, and applying drugs daily, are huge demands in wound management. Sustained and regulated medication release of BCS II/IV antibiotics improves chronic wound therapy. The poor solubility and absorption of BCS-class medicines makes it challenging at target site. This work seeks to build 3D nano scaffolds for administering ciprofloxacin, a BCS II/IV class medication, using biocompatible sulphonated polyether ether ketone mat produced by electrospinning, which is flexible. We demonstrated a reliable method to prevent burst drug release and maintain it for three weeks, with good biocompatibility, minimal cytotoxicity, and excellent tensile strength characterizing sulphonated polyether ether ketone. Nanofibers improve medication interaction and delivery due to their high specific surface area ratio. <i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> experiments were used to define and study ciprofloxacin release from 30 % w/v sulphonated polyether ether ketone nanofibers. The SPEEK polymer/mat was analysed using ¹H- NMR, FESEM, FTIR, TGA, and EDAX for structural and morphological characteristics. The UV spectroscopy showed that the nanofibrous SPEEK released 90 % ciprofloxacin over 21 days by non-Fickian diffusion (supported by mathematical modelling). Both direct and indirect MTT experiments at 1st, 3rd, and 7th days reveal compatibility with RAW 264.7 cell lines. Live-dead staining and cell adhesion investigations, support adherent cells and growth; scratch assay display migration in electrospun scaffold exhibits wound healing behaviour. <i>In vivo</i> investigations on Balb/C mice demonstrated that SPEEK-CF impregnated healed wounds from 3rd day and preventing infection till 14th day and confirmed by histopathology. This nanofibrous mat is suitable for sustained drug delivery.