Propionyl-L-Carnitine-Delivering Wound Dressings for the Treatment of Diabetic Wounds: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

Abstract

In the current study, a Propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC)-delivering porous wound dressing was developed using lyophilization method. PLC was added into the polymeric solutions at four different concentrations of 1 w/w%, 3 w/w%, 5 w/w%, and 10 w/w% and then lyophilized. Various experiments were performed in order to characterize the developed wound dressings. Cell viability experiments showed that dressings containing 5 w/w% PLC had significantly higher cell viability under normal and oxidative stress conditions. For this reason, the healing activity of this formulation was investigated In Vivo. Rat model of diabetic wound healing was used for the assessment of wound dressings healing activity. Wound healing assay showed that calcium alginate/CMC/5% PLC wound dressings had significantly higher rate of wound closure, epithelial thickness, and collagen deposition compared with other groups. Gene expression studies showed that the developed wound dressings reduced the tissue expression level of Glutathione peroxidase and NFk-β genes. This preliminary study implies the potential application of calcium alginate/CMC/5% PLC to treat diabetic wounds in clinic. However, study in larger animal models is required for its clinical translation.