Electrospun nano-polycaprolactone (PCL) is an ideal candidate for biomedical applications, as it mimics the extracellular matrix and possesses good biocompatibility, biodegradability and mechanical properties. Formic acid/acetic acid (FA/AA) and formic acid/acetone (FA/A) solvent systems were reported to be the safest solvents for the preparation of nanoscale electrospun polycaprolactone and they are also a common solvent with many natural polymers. In the present study a comparison between the electrospun fibers produced by the two systems was done. The optimum conditions for preparing PCL nanofibers were studied. The results indicated that finer fibers were found for formic acid/acetic acid in comparison with those produced by formic acid/acetone solvent system. In addition, it was found that optimum conditions for PCL nanofibers electrospinning were detected for 70:30 FA/AA solvent ratio with 15% PCL concentration and a tip to collector distance of 12.5 cm at 20 kV.
The present paper deals with gelatin nanofibres functionalized with silver nanoparticles, prepared by electrospinning using solutions of gelatin mixed with silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ). As a common solvent for gelatin and silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ), a mixture of acetic acid and water (70:30 v/v) was selected. In this system, acetic acid was used as a solvent for gelatin, and at the same time reducing agent for silver ions in solution. Silver nanoparticles (nAg) were stabilized through a mechanism that involves an interaction of the oxygen atoms of the carbonyl groups of gelatin. The viscosity and the conductivity of the gelatinous solutions were found to increase with the solution concentration. There is an observed decrease in the viscosity of the nAg containing gelatin solutions with the aging time increasing, whereas the conductivity of the AgNO 3 -containing gelatin solutions was greater than that of the base gelatin solution. The gelatin nanofibres functionalized with silver nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and antimicrobial test. The results of investigations by TEM and XRD confirmed the presence of silver nanoparticles with diameters in the range of (2 -10 nm), uniformly distributed over the surface of smooth nanofibres with an average diameter of 70 nm. The release of silver ions from both the 2-and 4-hrs crosslinked nAg containing gelatin fiber mats by a total immersion method in buffer and distilled water occurred rapidly during the first 60 minutes, and increased gradually afterwards. Lastly, the tests demonstrated that gelatin/Ag nanofibers have a good antimicrobial activity against some common bacteria found on burned wounds. The antibacterial activity of these materials was greatest against Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeroginosa ≈ Candida albicans.
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