Background: Designing a wound dressing that effectively prevents multi-drug-resistant bacterial infection and promotes angiogenesis and re-epithelialization is of great significance for wound management.
Methods and results: In this study, a biocompatible composite membrane comprising biomimetic polydopamine-modified eggshell membrane nano/microfibres coated with KR-12 antimicrobial peptide and hyaluronic acid (HA) was developed in an eco-friendly manner. The physicochemical properties of the composite membrane were thoroughly characterized, and the results showed that the surface hydrophilicity and water absorption ability of the composite membrane were improved after the successive conjugation of the HA and the KR-12 peptide. Furthermore, the in vitrobiological results revealed that the composite membrane had excellent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus , methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus  (MRSA) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli , and it could prevent MRSA biofilm formation on its surface. Additionally, it promoted the proliferation of keratinocytes and human umbilical vein endothelial cells and increased the secretion of VEGF. Finally, an in vivo animal study indicated that the composite membrane could promote wound healing via accelerating angiogenesis and re-epithelialization, which were demonstrated by the enhanced expression of angiogenetic markers (CD31 and VEGF) and keratinocyte proliferation marker (PCNA), respectively.
Conclusion: These results indicated that the composite membrane is a potential candidate of wound dressings.
Keywords: antimicrobial peptides, hyaluronic acid, fibrous eggshell membrane, antibacterial activity, angiogenesis, re-epithelialization