Preparation of Antibacterial Gelatin/Genipin Nanofibrous Membrane for Tympanic Membrane Repair

Tympanic membrane perforation (TMP), a common disease, often needs a scaffold as the patch to support surgery. Due to the environment of auditory meatus, the patch can be infected by bacteria that results in failure; therefore, the ideal scaffold may combine biomimetic and antibacterial features. In this work, gelatin was used as the electrospinning framework, genipin as the crosslinking agent, and levofloxacin as an antibacterial in order to prepare the scaffold for TMP. Different contents of levofloxacin have been added to gelatin/genipin. It was found that, with the addition of levofloxacin, the gelatin/genipin membranes exhibit improved hydrophilia and enhanced tensile strength. The antibacterial and cell-cultured experiments showed that the prepared antibacterial membranes had excellent antibacterial properties and good biocompatibility, respectively. In summary, levofloxacin is a good group for the gelatin/genipin scaffold because it improves the physical properties and antibacterial action. Compared with different amounts of levofloxacin, a gelatin/genipin membrane with 1% levofloxacin is more suitable for a TM.