%P 245-254 %J Materials Science and Engineering: C %L discovery1558303 %T Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/poly(l-lactic acid-co-ɛ-caprolactone) fibers loaded with ciprofloxacin as wound dressing materials %V 79 %A H Li %A GR Williams %A J Wu %A H Wang %A X Sun %A L-M Zhu %D 2017 %X In this work, we aimed to develop new materials to reduce the secondary injuries which can be imparted when replacing wound dressings. Electrospun fibers based on the thermoresponsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), poly(l-lactic acid-co-ɛ-caprolactone) (PLCL), and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIF) were prepared. The water contact angle of fibers made from a blend of PNIPAAm and PLCL changed dramatically when the temperature was increased above 32 °C. Sustained release of CIF from the formulations was observed over > 200 h. Moreover, L929 fibroblasts could proliferate on the fibers, indicating their biocompatibility. The CIF-loaded fibers were found to have potent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. In vivo tests on rats indicated that CIF-loaded thermosensitive fibers have enhanced healing performance compared to CIF-loaded PLCL fibers or a commercial gauze. Electrospun PNIPAAm/PLCL fibers loaded with CIF thus have great promise in the development of new wound dressing materials. %O This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. %K Wound dressing; Electrospinning; Thermosensitive; PNIPAAm; Antibacterial