Objective     To prepare a new wound dressing based on zinc oxide/polyvinyl alcohol (ZnO/PVA) nanofibers by electrospinning

and determine its properties and effects on promoting wound healing. Methods      The Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) were prepared by a solution-gel method. ZnO/PVA nanofibers containing nano-Zinc Oxide (1%

3% and 5% respectively) were prepared by electrospinning followed by a cross-linking process. The appearance features of ZnONPs and nanofibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The permeability and water absorption of ZnO/PVA nanofibers were also measured. The antibacterial effect of ZnO/PVA nanofibers on Staphylococcus aureus and its cytotoxicity to human fibroblast cells were investigated. The skin wounds on rat model were established and the effect of ZnO/PVA nanofibers on the wound healing was investigated. Results     The size of ZnONPs was 64.69±20.47 nm

and the diameter of ZnO/PVA nanofibers was 324.22±144.80 nm. The nanofibers were thin and uniform with obvious crosslinking

with better permeability and water absorption when compared with non-woven fabrics (P0.05). The results of bacteriostatic test showed that ZnO/PVA nanofibers had strong inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus. No cytotoxicity was observed on human fibroblast cells by 1% ZnO/PVA nanofibers. In vivo study showed that ZnO/PVA nanofibers could promote wound healing and its promoting wound healing ability was better than woundplast. Conclusion      Electrospinning-prepared ZnO/PVA nanofibers possess good permeability

strong water absorption and effective antimicrobial activity. ZnO/PVA nanofibers can promote wound healing

and are expected to be a new wound dressing.