Physico-Mechanical and Antibacterial Properties of PLA/TiO2 Composite Materials Synthesized via Electrospinning and Solution Casting Processes

Abstract

In this study, PLA/TiO2 composites materials were prepared via electrospinning and solution casting processes. By testing the mechanical properties, water contact angle, water vapor permeability, and solubility of the composite nanofibers and films, the comprehensive performances of the two types of nanocomposites were analyzed. The results show that maximum tensile strengths of 2.71 ± 0.11 MPa and 14.49 ± 0.13 MPa were achieved for the nanofibers and films at a TiO2 content of 0.75 wt.%. Moreover, the addition of TiO2 significantly cut down the water vapor transmittance rate of the nanofibers and films while significantly improving the water solubility. Further, the antibacterial activity increased under UV-A irradiation for a TiO2 nanoparticle content of 0.75 wt.%, and the nanofiber and films exhibited inhibition zones of 4.86 ± 0.50 and 3.69 ± 0.40 mm for E. coli, and 5.98 ± 0.77 and 4.63 ± 0.45 mm for S. aureus, respectively. Overall, the performance of the nanofiber was better than that of the film. Nevertheless, both the nanocomposite membranes satisfied the requirements of food packaging materials.

Electrospun Nanofibrous Poly (Lactic Acid)/Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposite Membranes for Cutaneous Scar Minimization

“…Several researches have studied how addition of nanoparticles can improve mechanical properties in ultra-thin polymeric fibers. It has been proven that, the improvement in mechanical properties of PLA-A over neat PLA in this study was attributed to the favorable interactions between the polymer matrix and the homogeneous distribution of TiO 2 nanoparticles (as augmented in the internal friction) within the fibers as a filler, showed in the Figure 1C.1, making it toughest and most flexible (Ramier et al, 2014;Sadeghi and Shahedi, 2016;Feng et al, 2019). The reduction of TS, FS, and EM in PLA-B (Figure 4 and Table 4) can be attributed to an anti-plasticizing effect, in which nano-TiO 2 might play the part of an anti-plasticizer due to increased interaction, a decreased the free volume between chains, a reduction in film flexibility and reduction in crystallinity, showed in Figure 1E, making it less tough (Shaili et al, 2015;Feng et al, 2019).…”

Visible-Light Active Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials with Bactericidal Properties

“…[227,228]. Very recently, Feng et al incorporated commercial Degussa P25 (70-80% anatase and 20-30% rutile) with a diameter of 20 nm into polylactic acid (PLA) using the electrospinning method [229]. They reported that the PLA/TiO 2 composite nanofibers with 0.75 wt% TiO 2 exhibit good bactericidal activity upon exposure to UV-A (360 nm) radiation.…”

“…Titania nanomaterials have been incorporated into polymers to form antibacterial coatings, food packaging materials, medical implants, wound dressings and scaffolds [59][60][61][62][63][64][65]229,286,287]. However, those studies are mainly focused on the bactericidal properties of the polymer nanocomposites with TiO 2 nanomaterials under UV irradiation.…”

Photothermally active nanoparticles as a promising tool for eliminating bacteria and biofilms

“…Moreover, the results regarding the efficiency of Ag NPs in preventing biofilm formation are controversial as the Ag nanoparticles seem to be effective against the Gram-negative but not so much against the Gram-positive strains [ 6 ]. The antibacterial properties of a wide range of nanoparticles and their corresponding nanocomposites, such as ZnO [ 17 – 18 ], TiO 2 [ 19 – 20 ], Fe 3 O 4 [ 21 – 23 ] and CuO [ 24 – 26 ], are also well described in the literature. The antibacterial activity of polymeric nanoparticles, such as the polystyrene sulfate coated with a bilayer of dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide [ 27 ] and poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) loaded with gentamicin [ 28 ], were also studied.…”