Biodegradable Nanofibrous Membranes for Medical and Personal Protection Applications: Manufacturing, Anti-COVID-19 and Anti-Multidrug Resistant Bacteria Evaluation

Abstract

Biodegradable nanofibrous hybrid membranes of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with ZnO and CuO nanoparticles were manufactured and characterized, and their anti-COVID-19 and anti-multidrug resistant bacteria activities were also evaluated. The morphological structures of the prepared PVA composites nanofibers were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), which revealed a homogenous pattern of the developed nanofibers, with an average fibrous diameter of 200–250 nm. Moreover, the results of the SEM showed that the fiber size changed with the type and the concentration of the metal oxide. Moreover, the antiviral and antibacterial potential capabilities of the developed nanofibrous membranes were tested in blocking the viral fusion of SARS-COV-2, as a representative activity for COVID-19 deactivation, as well as for their activity against a variety of bacterial strains, including multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR). The results revealed that ZnO loaded nanofibers were more potent antiviral agents than their CuO analogues. This antiviral action was attributed to the fact that inorganic metallic compounds have the ability to extract hydrogen bonds with viral proteins, causing viral rupture or morphological changes. On the other hand, the anti-multi-drug resistant activity of the prepared nanofibers was also evaluated using two techniques; the standard test method for determining the antimicrobial activity of immobilized antimicrobial agents under dynamic contact conditions and the standard test method for determining the activity of incorporated antimicrobial agents in polymeric or hydrophobic materials. Both techniques proved the superiority of the ZnO loaded nanofibers over the CuO loaded fibers. The results of the antiviral and antibacterial tests showed the effectiveness of such nanofibrous formulas, not only for medical applications, but also for the production of personal protection equipment, such as gowns and textiles.

Recent advances and future perspectives in engineering biodegradable face masks

“…PVA has also combined with zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles to form biodegradable nanofibrous membranes which can potentially be used as materials for protective clothing. 112 Electrospun webs of PVA, with natural extracts such as licorice root extract 113 and aloe vera gel 114 have shown promising antimicrobial activity and suitable properties for making antimicrobial face mask layers. 115…”

Antibacterial easy adjustable woven compression bandage for venous leg ulcers

“…38 It is a quantitative method in which a reduction factor is evaluated, which indicates the percentage by which the concentration of inoculated bacteria has been reduced. The percentage reduction was determined as following equation (4): 39,40 where C and A are the colonies counted from the plate of the control and treated sample, respectively.…”

“…With a short-stretch CB, the muscle contraction causes an intermittent narrowing of the veins, a reduction of venous reflux, and thus an improvement in the venous pump function when the patient is walking. Longstretch CB is suitable for uncomplicated varicose veins or athletic performance, such cases require medium pressure (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). 12 In order to design effective compression bandages, researchers have attempted to describe the interface pressure applied by these bandages using mathematical models.…”

Elastic Nanofibrous Membranes for Medical and Personal Protection Applications: Manufacturing, Anti-COVID-19, and Anti-Colistin Resistant Bacteria Evaluation

“…Recently, researchers have been focusing on the novel and insightful ideas that can be more applicable in industry to precisely solve this problem [1,[18][19][20][21][22]. Textile engineering and nanotechnology are playing an important role in the fight against this pandemic [23].…”