Electrospun Micropatterned Nanocomposites Incorporated with Cu₂S Nanoflowers for Skin Tumor Therapy and Wound Healing

Abstract

Surgical excision of skin cancers can hardly remove the tumor tissues completely and simultaneously result in cutaneous defects. To avoid tumor recurrence and heal the tumor-induced wounds, we designed a tissue engineering membrane possessing bifunctions of tumor therapy and skin tissue regeneration. The micropatterned nanocomposite membrane was successfully fabricated by incorporating Cu₂S nanoflowers into biopolymer fibers via a modified electrospinning method. With uniformly embedded Cu₂S nanoparticles, the membranes exhibited excellent and controllable photothermal performance under near-infrared irradiation, which resulted in high mortality (>90%) of skin tumor cells and effectively inhibited tumor growth in mice. Moreover, the membranes supported the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of skin cells as well as significantly stimulated angiogenesis and healed full-thickness skin defects in vivo. This proof-of-concept study offers a facile and reliable strategy for localized skin tumor therapy and tissue regeneration using bifunctional tissue engineering biomaterials, showing great promise for tumor-induced wound healing applications.