This
work presents nanofibrous membranes made of poly(vinylidene
fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-co-methacryloyloxyethyl butylurethane) (PMBU) for promoting
the healing of acute and chronic wounds. Membranes were prepared by
an electrospinning process, which led to matrixes with a pore size
mimicking the extracellular matrix. PMBU greatly improves the hydration
of membranes, resulting in very low biofouling by protein or bacteria
and enhanced blood compatibility while the cell viability remains
close to 100%. This set of properties exhibited by the suitable combination
of physical structure and material composition led to applying the
zwitterionic nanofibrous membranes as wound-dressing materials for
acute and chronic wounds. The results demonstrated that the zwitterionic
membrane could compete with commercial dressings in terms of wound-healing
kinetics and could outperform them with regard to the quality of new
tissue. Histological analyses suggested that inflammation was reduced
while proliferative and maturation phases were accelerated, leading
to homogeneous re-epithelialization. This study unveils another potential
biomedical application of antifouling zwitterionic membranes.