Fuente: Journal of applied polymer Lugar: RESEARCH ARTICLE In vivo wound healing evaluation of different treatments in a murine excisional wound model. (a) Representative photographs of wound closure at 3, 7, and 14 days post-treatment for the different groups: Control, PVA-CA, PVA-CA-Ag, NTP, PVA-CA-NTP, and PVA-CA-Ag-NTP. (b) Experimental design showing six treatment groups with n = 18 wounds per group. (c) Schematic representation of the non-thermal plasma (NTP) treatment applied to the wound area. The graph shows the percentage of wound area reduction over time (0, 3, 7, and 14 days) for all groups. The PVA-CA-Ag-NTP group demonstrated the most rapid wound contraction compared with other treatments, with statistically significant differences (p ⟨ 0.05) observed by day 14.


ABSTRACT
Electrospun polymeric wound dressings that integrate biomimetic structure with bioactive stimulation represent an effective approach for accelerating tissue repair. This study evaluates electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers crosslinked with citric acid (PVA–CA), with or without silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), applied alone or in combination with non-thermal plasma (NTP) for cutaneous wound healing in rats. The PVA–CA system provided a hydrophilic, porous scaffold with improved structural stability due to ester crosslinking. Thirty-six male Wistar rats with full-thickness dorsal skin wounds were distributed into six groups: Control, PVA–CA, PVA–CA + Ag, NTP, PVA–CA + NTP, and PVA–CA + Ag + NTP. Healing progression was evaluated macroscopically and histologically at 3, 7, and 14 days post-injury. The PVA–CA + NTP group showed the highest healing efficacy, achieving a 96.6% wound area reduction at Day 14, versus 89.7% for the control. Histological analyses demonstrated accelerated re-epithelialization, increased angiogenesis, and enhanced collagen deposition in this group, indicating advanced tissue remodeling. Although AgNP incorporation provided antimicrobial functionality, it did not further improve regeneration when combined with NTP. These results demonstrate that citric-acid-crosslinked electrospun PVA dressings synergistically potentiate the therapeutic effects of non-thermal plasma, offering a promising platform for advanced wound healing applications.