Abstract:
Dural defects arise due to tumor invasion, cerebrovascular disease, neurosurgery and
traumatic brain injury, ultimately causing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, resulting in
serious complications such as meningitis, epilepsy, brain swelling, cerebral hernia,
intercranial infections, seizures and pesudomeningocele. Different approaches like sutures,
sealants, and hydrogels have been employed for dural repair but they have limitations of
causing incomplete dural closure, disease transmission, limited resources, immune
rejection, inflammation etc. To address these challenges, there is a call to develop an ideal
scaffold that should be biocompatible, biodegradable, non-immunogenic, and provide
suitable mechanical strength. In this study, a trilayered composite scaffold comprising of
silk fibroin (SF), bioactive glass (BG), polyurethane (PU), and oregano essential oil (OEO)
was fabricated through electrospinning. The prepared scaffold was characterized by
employing various techniques. FTIR was used for confirmation of polymeric functional
groups in the scaffold. Evaluated hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, swelling, porosity and
density of the trilayered scaffold were in optimal range that hold promise for future clinical
applications, facilitating cell proliferation and promoting cell attachment to host tissues.
SEM was utilized to check the morphology and fiber alignment of scaffold, showing that
composite scaffold mimics the actual structure of dura mater. Excellent antibacterial
activity was observed against E.coli with maximum % inhibition growth of 80% showing
the bacterial resistance of the composite scaffold. In vitro studies manifested that the
composite scaffold demonstrated a favorable degradation rate matching the regeneration
period of dura mater. From all the results, it can be concluded that this dural substitute will
be an encouraging biomaterial for dural regeneration as it has the ability to prevent
cerebrospinal fluid leakage and support cell attachment.
