Enhanced Adhesion of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofibers to Plasma-Modified Polypropylene Fabric

Abstract

Excellent adhesion of electrospun nanofiber (NF) to textile support is crucial for a broad range of their bioapplications, e.g., wound dressing development. We compared the effect of several low- and atmospheric pressure plasma modifications on the adhesion between two parts of composite—polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous mat (functional part) and polypropylene (PP) spunbond fabric (support). The support fabrics were modified before electrospinning by low-pressure plasma oxygen treatment or amine plasma polymer thin film or treated by atmospheric pressure plasma slit jet (PSJ) in argon or argon/nitrogen. The adhesion was evaluated by tensile test and loop test adapted for thin NF mat measurement and the trends obtained by both tests largely agreed. Although all modifications improved the adhesion significantly (at least twice for PSJ treatments), low-pressure oxygen treatment showed to be the most effective as it strengthened adhesion by a factor of six. The adhesion improvement was ascribed to the synergic effect of high treatment homogeneity with the right ratio of surface functional groups and sufficient wettability. The low-pressure modified fabric also stayed long-term hydrophilic (ten months), even though surfaces usually return to a non-wettable state (hydrophobic recovery). In contrast to XPS, highly surface-sensitive water contact angle measurement proved suitable for monitoring subtle surface changes.

From Basics to Frontiers: A Comprehensive Review of Plasma-Modified and Plasma-Synthesized Polymer Films

“…More recently, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used to show how air plasma can affix C=O and O-H functional groups onto the surface of PP films, with minimal changes to their bulk properties [319] . While this surface-specific (or non-invasive) nature is observed in most polymers with substantial surface-tovolume ratios (e.g., nanofibers, powders, porous polymers [320,321,322] ), some exceptions may not be eluded [323] .…”

Sample thickness and edge proximity influence spatial behavior of filaments and treatment uniformity of RF cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet

“…In addition, lower gas temperatures can also be beneficial for the plasma treatment of heat-sensitive materials like most synthetic polymers [2,9]. The fundamental studies of atmospheric plasma discharges interacting with complex non-planar surfaces have recently seen an increase in interest, driven mainly by promising developments in plasma catalysis [12][13][14] and bioapplications [15,16] where the interaction of discharge with such surfaces is unavoidable. Konina et al [17] used numerical simulations to study the propagation of the surface ionization wave (SIW) across dielectric surfaces of different geometries (wavy, with cut-in pores and with water droplets on the flat surface).…”

Wound Gel with Antimicrobial Effects Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol and Functional Aryloxycyclotriphosphazene

“…Covalently cross-linked polymers obtained through the Diels-Alder reaction [14], non-covalently cross-linked non-toxic cryogels of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol [15], gum arabic cryogels [16], nanofibers based on biodegradable poly-ε-caprolactone, and poly-Llactide obtained via centrifugal spinning or electrospinning [17][18][19][20][21] have been used as gels to prepare wound dressings. Hydrogels based on carboxymethyl cellulose [22] and its combination with carbomer 940 [23], carboxymethyl chitosan [24,25], and chitosan with bacterial cellulose [26] are used to treat chronic wounds and burns.…”