The rise of antibiotic resistance has become a major threat to human health and it is spreading globally. It can cause common infectious diseases to be difficult to treat and leads to higher medical costs and increased mortality. Hence, multifunctional polymeric nanofibers with distinctive structures and unique physiochemical properties have emerged as a neo-tool to target biofilm and overcome deadly bacterial infections. This review emphasizes electrospun nanofibers’ design criteria and properties that can be utilized to enhance their therapeutic activity for antimicrobial therapy. Also, we present recent progress in designing the surface functionalization of antimicrobial nanofibers with non-antibiotic agents for effective antibacterial therapy. Lastly, we discuss the future trends and remaining challenges for polymeric nanofibers.

The emergence of resistance to pathogenic bacteria has resulted from the misuse of antibiotics used in wound treatment. Therefore, nanomaterial-based agents can be used to overcome these limitations. In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin/graphene oxide electrospun nanofibers (PGO) are functionalized via plasma treatment with the monomeric groups diallylamine (PGO-M1), acrylic acid (PGO-M2), and tert-butyl acrylate (PGO-M3) to enhance the action against bacteria cells. The surface functionalization influences the morphology, surface wettability, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of PGO nanofibers. PGO-M1 and PGO-M2 exhibit good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, whereas PGO-M3 tends to reduce their antibacterial properties compared to PGO nanofibers. The highest proportion of dead bacteria cells is found on the surface of hydrophilic PGO-M1, whereas live cells are colonized on the surface of hydrophobic PGO-M3. Likewise, PGO-M1 shows a good interaction with L929, which is confirmed by the high levels of adhesion and proliferation with respect to the control. All the results confirm that surface functionalization can be strategically used as a tool to engineer PGO nanofibers with controlled antibacterial properties for the fabrication of highly versatile devices suitable for different applications (e.g., health, environmental pollution).

Polymeric nanofibers with good antimicrobial properties are a promising option to thwart wound infection and accelerate wound healing. Although PVA/Chitosan possesses many useful properties, its antibacterial activity is insufficient for effective wound dressing. Therefore, using a hydrophilic drug such as Gentamicin Sulfate (GS) that has a broad-spectrum activity against a wide range of bacteria can enhance the nanofibers' performance. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with chitosan nanofibers loaded with gentamicin sulfate was prepared using an electrospinning technique and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde for better loading efficiency and controlled drug release at the site of interest. Morphological investigation carried out using scanning electron microscopy showed smooth and homogeneous nanofibers. FT-IR was used to confirm the structure of the nanofibers. In situ crosslinking enabled penetration of the crosslinking agent into the nanofibers and improved the thermal stability and drug release performance. The thermal stability of PVA/Chitosan nanofibers was reduced with the addition of gentamicin sulfate. The kinetic release of gentamicin sulfate followed the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with release exponent, n < 0.5. Antibacterial testing of crosslinked nanofibers against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus showed good inhibition of bacterial growth. Crosslinked PVA/Chitosan nanofibers loaded with gentamicin sulfate showed multifunctional characteristics and thus may be a suitable material for controlled drug delivery and tissue engineering applications.