Design and characterization of anti-microbial novel herbal nanofiber scaffolds for the management of periodontal diseases

Abstract

Design and evaluation of PCL and gelatin loaded nanofiber containing herbal formulation named Ashvakatri in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. The electro-spinning method was used to create the composite nano-fibers containing herbal formulation, which were then evaluated for various parameters including in-vitro antimicrobial study and in-vitro drug release. An interconnected, continuous and bead free nanofiber with an average diameter of 150–250 nm was exhibited by the optimized nanofiber. The addition of gelatin and PCL to the optimized nanofiber improved its biocompatibility and bioadhesive characteristics. According to anti-microbial investigation and CLSM study indicated the remarkable inhibition of periodontal pathogens such as Aggregabacter actinomycetemcomitans (AI), Porphyromonas Gingivilis (PG), Fusobacterium spp (FB), and Porphyromonas intermedia (PI) respectively by optimized nanofiber and in-vitro drug release study also demonstrated the controlled release of composite nanofiber for over 220 h. Additionally, the MTT assay and in-vitro scratch assay indicated the composite NF had no cytotoxicity to the fibroblast cell line. The fabricated NF is a potential option for chronic periodontitis treatment since it expedited anti-bacterial, cytotoxic and sustained release medications. © The Author(s) 2025.