The best materials for wound repair are emerging scaffolds made of nanofibers because they have more outstanding cell attachment properties, drug loading, and friendly interactions with the wound interface. However, their application in biomedical fields is constrained even though they support many therapeutic effects. They only offer the random release of active components and cannot establish long-term and stable control release for wound sites. In this regard, the controlled release of vitamin E from heat-responsive polymer/MXene nanobelt fibers has been reported [
90]. Herein, polyacrylonitrile and polyvinylpyrrolidone, along with MXenes, were used. An additional layer of heat-sensitive PAAV (co-polymer) was also added, which led to the release of loaded material upon heat produced by the photothermal effect caused by MXene. The schematic representation and the obtained morphology are shown in
Fig. 6a. The developed MXene composite nanofiber produces heat when exposed to NIR; the temperature rose quickly to 60 ℃ in 120 s. It was observed that altering the near-infrared (NIR) light changed the temperature values. For 0.5 W power, the temperature rise was 42 ℃ when exposed to the 180 s. Meanwhile, 0.33 W was used as a safe level for practical application leading to a 42 ℃ temperature rise for 180 s. The author states that MXenes helped in releasing the antibiotic and led to enhanced antibacterial activity, as shown in
Fig. 6b (left panel). Moreover, the change in temperature attributes stability along with the long-term release of vitamin E, which later increases wound healing. The results revealed mats containing MXenes/vitamin E/thermosensitive polymer resulted in complete wound recovery within 17 days (
Fig. 6b, right panel); moreover, the quantitative analysis was accessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. In addition to providing sound photothermal effects, the MXene nanosheets within these materials also offered functional groups for cell development, which was reported using immunohistochemical studies. The studies showed significant angiogenesis and elevated CD31 expression, as shown in
Fig. 6c. It was also observed that there was a substantial rise in blood vessels for wounds treated with NIR-exposed nanofibers containing vitamin E. This allowed suitable availability of nutrients and oxygen for better wound healing properties of nanofiber mat. In one of the works, MXenes, along with baicalin (antibiotic) loaded in nanofiber, have been fabricated and tested as antibacterial wound dressing material [
91]. A synergistic effect of Ti
3C
2T
x nano-flakes and baicalin in poly(
ε-caprolactone) nanofibers exhibited significant antibacterial activity against the
Staphylococcus aureus. The results revealed a substantial decrease in contact angle from 127.1
o to 65.5
o upon the addition of MXenes and baicalin due to the presence of OH groups, as reported by the author. The material to be used for wound healing should inherit antibacterial activity to take care of infections. For that purpose, baicalin (poorly insoluble in water) should be released from the nanofiber adequately. Further, these materials showed good biocompatibility.