Electrospun pullulan based nanofibers for medical applications

There are over 100 million people in the United States living with diabetes; of these, roughly 20 million will be diagnosed with either a hand or foot ulcer in their lifetime. These ulcers form due to a wide range of causes, but they rarely heal, and often become a chronic condition, due to necrosis of the tissue and deficiencies caused by the patient’s diabetes {reference}. Common treatment for these ulcers range from removal of dead tissue to angioplasty to increase the blood flow to amputation of the afflicted limb, which leads to multiple returns to hospitals and clinics, or permanent loss of limb. Nanofibers have been used with increasing success for drug delivery due to their extremely high surface to volume ratio, low density, and high porosity. Aloe Vera has been used for millennia for its curative and wound healing properties. In order to prevent aloe vera from degrading, it can be spun into nanofibers to preserve its curative properties. It is hypothesized that consistently thin nanofibers created using aloe vera as a base can aid in recovery time for diabetic ulcers. Pullulan, a plastic commonly used in the food industry, is water soluble, biodegradable, and has high adhesion, making it the perfect candidate for electrospinning.