Antibacterial activities of centrifugally spun polyethylene oxide/silver composite nanofibers

Abstract

Composite nanofibers were prepared successfully by centrifugal spinning of poly(ethylene oxide) aqueous solutions containing silver nanoparticles. The core focus of the present work is to carefully evaluate the antibacterial activity of poly(ethylene oxide)-Ag composite nanofibers in the presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) bacteria. Centrifugally spun nanofibers were obtained from poly(ethylene oxide)-Ag precursor solutions with different Ag nanoparticle loadings. The process parameters such as the spinneret rotational speed, collector-spinneret distance, and relative humidity were optimized to obtain fine fibers. The complex morphology and flexible structure of the poly(ethylene oxide)-Ag composite fibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The composite nanofibers have been proven as a strong antibacterial agent against E. coli and B. cereus due to their capacity to form superior inhibition zones. The efficiency of inhibiting bacteria by nanofibers was over 98%.The workability of the bacteria was impeded by the nanofibrous membrane as the Ag nanoparticles presented an effective chemical ability to dysfunction the bacterial structure at the nanoscale. These results demonstrate that the centrifugally spun poly(ethylene oxide)-Ag nanofibers are promising antibacterial agents for biomedical applications.

Centrifugally spun poly(ethylene oxide) fibers rival the properties of electrospun fibers

“…We contrast crystallinity, tensile strength and modulus, and elongation-at-break with the corresponding values reported in literature for electrospun PEO fibers. We picked PEO as the model polymer inspired by many existing fundamental studies of fiber formation and properties, 2,4,8,12,13,18,21,24,27,29,33,34,40,[44][45][46][47][48][49] and our extensive prior characterization of the shear and extensional rheology response of aqueous PEO solutions. [50][51][52][53] Fibers formed by PEO alone, using PEO to enhance spinnability, or containing PEO blended with other polymers, particles, or proteins, are suitable for biomedical (e.g., drug delivery, antimicrobial filters), energy and digital electronics (e.g., battery separators, photovoltaics), and environmental applications.…”

“…[50][51][52][53] Fibers formed by PEO alone, using PEO to enhance spinnability, or containing PEO blended with other polymers, particles, or proteins, are suitable for biomedical (e.g., drug delivery, antimicrobial filters), energy and digital electronics (e.g., battery separators, photovoltaics), and environmental applications. 7,8,12,13,40,42,48,49,54 We anticipate that the analysis of thermal and mechanical properties of centrifugally-spun fibers will spur critical progress toward a better understanding of processingstructure-property relationships, needed for designing application-specific nonwovens.…”

Forcespun polyvinylpyrrolidone/copper and polyethylene oxide/copper composite fibers and their use as antibacterial agents

“…The effective combination of these parameters results in bead-free and uniform nanofibrous matrix. During centrifugal spinning, PEO aqueous solution of 8 wt% concentration 42 produces bead-free fibers. In the case of PEO solution, the viscosity at 8 wt% concentration 42 was very low to produce good fibrous mats whereas a higher viscosity than this one yielded beaded and torn fibers.…”

“…During centrifugal spinning, PEO aqueous solution of 8 wt% concentration 42 produces bead-free fibers. In the case of PEO solution, the viscosity at 8 wt% concentration 42 was very low to produce good fibrous mats whereas a higher viscosity than this one yielded beaded and torn fibers. 64 Here the experiments were performed at 46%-48% the relative humidity since aqueous solution did not get it evaporated beyond upper of this humidity.…”

“…14,40 Several polymer systems have been recently centrifugally spun into fibers. 41,42 Likewise, polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymers have been forcespun to generate fibers for various applications. Both polymers are soluble in water and/or other solvents, 43 biodegradable, biocompatible, 6 physiologically acceptable polymers and nontoxic for living organisms.…”