In the present study, polylactic acid (PLA) was incorporated to ameliorate the rheological and mechanical properties of chitosan (CS)-based hydrogels. A novel injectable chitosan/polylactic acid (CS/PLA) nanofiber composite hydrogel, fabricated via the electrospinning technique, was developed for the sealing and repair of fistulas, thereby functioning as an innovative biomaterial for the treatment of tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). Experimental data demonstrated that the CS/PLA composite nanofiber hydrogel exhibits superior mechanical properties, favorable rheological behavior, and prominent antimicrobial activity. At the optimal ratio, the compressive strength and tensile strength of CS/PLA composite nanofiber hydrogel is 43.7 MPa and 1.38 MPa, and the degradation rate is 68.9% after 10 days. Meanwhile, the antibacterial rates against E. coli and S. aureus CS/PLA composite nanofiber hydrogel reached 82.6% and 76.3%, respectively. In vitro experiments were performed to assess the biocompatibility and cell proliferation capacity of the composite hydrogel. The results revealed that the CS/PLA composite nanofiber hydrogel can effectively facilitate the proliferation and migration of target cells, while simultaneously exhibiting favorable biocompatibility. These findings indicate that the CS/PLA composite nanofiber hydrogel possesses considerable application potential in TEF repair, thereby offering an innovative and efficient biomaterial option for clinical intervention of TEF.
Luo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.