Nanofibrous
wound dressing is one of the most prominent stratagems for
wound caring/management. This research is an approach for designing an electrospun
wound dressing based on poly(ε-
caprolactone)/
hydroxypropyl cellulose/
zinc oxide nanoparticles (PCL/HPC/n-ZnO), in which response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to ascertain the optimum sample. It was observed that the addition of n-ZnO and Melilotus Officinalis (MO) extract could increase the fibers mean diameter, pore size, and crystallinity of
mats. The mentioned quantities for a sample with the highest MO content (PHZM10) were equal to 469±105 nm, 544±370 nm, and 49.67%, respectively. Moreover, enhancing the amount of MO led to an increase in mechanical properties. In this respect, the PHZM10 sample had the modulus, strength, and toughness of 82.41±0.61, 20.45±0.30 MPa, and 4194.86 mJ, respectively. Also, according to the MTT assay, no cytotoxicity was reported from any of the manufactured samples. Besides, it was concluded that the antibacterial activity and nanofibrous structure of
mats, and also their potential for release of MO extract could accelerate the wound healing. Hence, the
wound closure index for the PHZM10 group was 99.3±1.1%. Based on all noted results, the PCL/HPC/n-ZnO/MO electrospun
mats can be proposed as reassuring
wound dressing candidates.