PLLA Nanosheets for Wound Healing: Embedding with Iron-Ion-Containing Nanoparticles

This article reports on polymer (PLLA, poly(L-lactic acid)) nanosheets incorporated with Fe-ion nanoparticles, aiming at using the latter nanoparticles as a source to release Fe ions. Such Fe ions should facilitate burn wound healing when such nanosheets are applied as a biomedical tissue on skin. Laser ablation in liquid phase was used to produce Fe-containing nanoparticles that, after incorporation into PLLA nanosheets, would release Fe ions upon immersion in water. Unlike most iron-oxide nanostructures, which are poorly soluble, such nanoparticles prepared in chloroform were found to have water solubility, as they were shown by XPS to be based on iron chloride and oxide phases. After incorporation into PLLA nanosheets, the ion-release test demonstrated that Fe ions could be released successfully into water at pH 7.4. Incorporation with two different metal ions (Fe and Zn) was also found to be efficient, as both types of ions were demonstrated to be released simultaneously and with comparable release rates. The results imply that such polymer nanosheets show promise for biomedical applications as potential patches for healing of burns.