Polyurethane–biowaste scaffold shows promise for wound healing

The study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, explores electrospun polyurethane (PU) combined with ESM—a protein-rich biowaste material—as a way to balance mechanical performance with biological activity.

Electrospinning was used to produce PU–ESM hybrid scaffolds with varying compositions, enabling the team to tune properties such as wettability, swelling behavior, degradation rate and tensile strength. Increasing ESM content improved hydrophilicity and biodegradability, but also affected mechanical performance, highlighting the need for an optimized formulation. 

The researchers identified an 80:20 PU-to-ESM ratio as the most effective balance. At this composition, the scaffold delivered moderate stiffness and tensile strength alongside controlled swelling and degradation characteristics.

Biological testing showed that fibroblast viability on the hybrid scaffold matched control samples and exceeded that of pure ESM materials. The study also reported significantly improved cell adhesion and spreading, with higher cell density and surface coverage compared with pure polyurethane scaffolds.

The work addresses a key challenge in tissue engineering: designing materials that combine structural integrity with biological functionality. Polyurethane provides mechanical resilience, while the addition of eggshell membrane introduces bioactive cues that support cell attachment and proliferation.

According to the authors, the findings establish composition–property relationships that could guide the development of tunable, extracellular matrix-mimicking materials for chronic wound repair. 

While still at the research stage, the approach suggests a route for incorporating low-cost, waste-derived biomaterials into polyurethane systems for medical applications.