Glucantime and quercetin electrospun nanofiber membranes: Fabrication and their evaluation as dressing for cutaneous leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is considered as one of the most concerns of the World Health Organization (WHO). The main objective of this study was to use polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber scaffolds in order to provide a topical drug delivery system capable of delivering glucantime (glu) and quercetin (qur) to cutaneous leishmaniasis wounds. First, PCL/glu/qur, PCL/glu, and PCL/qur nanofibers were prepared by an electrospinning method followed by characterization through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Subsequently, we investigated the release of the drugs from nano-scaffolds and anti-promastigote effects. Lastly, the effect of nanobandage was evaluated on 20 female inbred BALB/c mice infected with the parasite. The nanofibers were bead-free and uniform with an average diameter of 224 ± 25 nm and showed a sustained release. Results from in vivo experiments showed that the number of amastigotes and macrophages infected with the parasite and the infiltration of inflammatory cells in mice treated with PCL/qur and PCL/glu/qur nanofibers significantly decreased as compared with those treated with the PCL/glu and PCL nanofibers. Collectively, PCL/glu/qur and PCL/qur nanofibers have promising therapeutic effects in cutaneous leishmaniasis wound healing.