Drug-Eluting Nanofibrous Polymeric Tubes for Urethra Reconstruction and Prevention of Its Infection: An In Vitro Study

Abstract

In the current study, nanofibrous polymeric tubes were fabricated to develop a drug-delivering artificial urethra. Scaffolds were produced via electrospinning of collagen and polycaprolacton solution loaded with trimethoprim and curcumin and then rolled up to produce urethra-resembling tubes. Various In Vitro experiments such as scanning electron microscopy imaging, cell attachment studies, cytocompatiblity test, cell protection assay, antibacterial tests, biodegradation analysis, antiinflammatory assay, and gene expression analysis were utilized for the characterization of the scaffolds. In Vitro experiments showed that the electrospun tubes were biocompatible with human urothelial cells and promoted their adhesion and proliferation. Antibacterial assay showed that drug-delivering scaffolds showed a strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Meantime, the developed scaffolds downregulated fibrosis-associated genes. This study suggests potential applicability of polycaprolacton/collagen/curcumin/ trimethoprim tubes for urethra reconstruction surgeries and prevention of its bacterial infection.