Preparation and Characterization of Polyethylene Oxide, Polyethylene Oxide-Gum Arabic, and Polyethylene Oxide-Gum Arabic-Menthol Nanofibers and Their Toxicity on Melanoma Cancer Cells and Healthy Human Skin

Abstract

Introduction: As the largest organ of the body, the skin is exposed to physical, chemical and biological damage, and skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. Due to side effects and drug resistance, the development of herbal medicines using nanotechnology has received much attention.Materials and methods: In this study, three types of nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning method, and prepared nanofiber were evaluated by SEM and FTIR analyses. Next, the toxicity of these nanofibers was investigated on melanoma cancer cells (A-375) and healthy cells (HFFF2) of human skin.Results: Polyethylene oxide nanofibers with an average diameter of 187 ± 9 nm, polyethylene oxide-gum arabic nanofibers with an average diameter of 200 ± 27 nm, and polyethylene oxide-gum arabic-menthol with a diameter of 338 ± 46 nm were prepared. The morphology of these nanofibers was investigated with the help of scanning electron microscope. The results showed that polyethylene oxide-gum arabic-menthol nanofibers had the most toxic effect on cancer cells, which is significantly less on healthy skin cells.Conclusion: Due to the non-toxicity of polyethylene oxide-gum arabic-menthol nanofibers on healthy skin cells, it can be used as a non-toxic wound dressing after complete in-vivo studies.