Thymol-based Schiff base-loaded poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) electrospun nanofiber mats with anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties

Abstract

Schiff bases are known for their wide range of biological activities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activity, making them ideal additives to improve the bioactivity performance and mechanical stability of electrospun nanofiber mats. In here, bioactive electrospun nanofiber mats made of poly ε-caprolactone (PCL) in combination with synthesized thymol-based Schiff base (3a) at different concentrations were fabricated to evaluate their potential applicability in biomedical applications such as cancer therapy, wound dressings, or surgical sutures. PCL used as the base polymer was blended with the synthesized thymol-based compound to observe the effects of the additives in terms of antibacterial and anticancer activity by evaluating their structural, morphological, and mechanical properties. The morphological characteristics and chemical compositions of the resultant nanofibers were elucidated through SEM and FT-IR analysis. The results indicated that the nanofibers were distributed uniformly throughout the material and that 3a had been successfully loaded into the PCL nanofibers exhibiting no bead formation. The wettability of electrospun nanofiber mats containing PCL and 3a was assessed by measuring the contact angle. The results revealed that the incorporation of 3a slightly enhanced the wettability of the mats. DPPH radical scavenging test demonstrated that the nanofiber mats impregnated with 3a displayed considerable antioxidant attributes. Furthermore, the antimicrobial assays exhibited that the nanofiber mats with higher 3a loading exhibited enhanced antimicrobial activity, especially against Candida albicans. The MTT test was conducted to assess the cytotoxicity of PCL/3a nanofiber mats on the colon cancer cell line. The results demonstrated that sample PCL/3a 0.50% had the highest cytotoxic effect compared to samples PCL and PCL/3a 0.25%. In conclusion, 3a loaded electrospun nanofiber mats can be promising candidates in biomedical applications. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.