Properties of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel nanofibers crosslinked with 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid

Abstract

Electrospun nanofibrous hydrogel membranes have been gaining significant importance due to the combination of unique physical properties of nanofibers and biocompatibility of hydrogels. Thus, they are considered as potential candidates for medical textile applications. This study deals with electrospinning of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel nanofibrous membranes. The chemical crosslinking of PVA with proportionate quantities of 1,2,3,4 butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) was undertaken to form hydrogel structures. Cross-linked membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR and thermogravimetric analysis, water swelling, and durability tests. FT-IR analysis demonstrated the formation of ester linkages between PVA and BTCA and thermogravimetric analysis showed that crosslinking improved the thermal stability of the nanofibrous structure. Furthermore, the results indicated that crosslinking with BTCA improved water stability of PVA membranes and the nanofibrous structure was preserved after water treatment. It is envisaged that use of BTCA as a cross-linker to form hydrogel nanofibers could be a practical and a promising method for medical textile applications, especially for wound dressings given its nontoxicity and immiscibility with polymer solutions.

Physical stabilisation of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibres: comparative study on methanol and heat-based crosslinking

“…Electrospinning 12.5 and 6 % polymer concentrations were selected for LMW & HMW PVA, respectively, based on previous studies by the authors [15] and preliminary experimental trials. These were then separately dissolved in distilled water at room temperature and stirred for at least 2 h at 80°C.…”

“…Moreno et al [31] investigated controlled release of enzymes from PVA nanofibrous membranes and concluded that fibrous morphology of methanol-treated PVA mat was conserved even after 3 days of immersion of water. However, in some other papers, [15,24,31] it has been reported that the fibrous structure of electrospun PVA membranes is altered after methanol treatment and/or after immersion into water, in which swollen, aggregated and even film-like structures have been obtained. Since there are several incompatible conclusions on methanol treatment, an in-depth analysis is needed to include the effects of process and material parameters.…”

“…Despite having advantageous properties, it suffers from instability in water and hence this is a major challenge to its full application potential [7]. Crosslinking of electrospun PVA nanofibres is carried out to remove this problem by many researchers [1,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Crosslinking forms a three-dimensional network by joining polymer chains with one another and therefore increases fibre stability as well as other physical properties.…”

Functional Cross‐Linked Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol Membranes and Their Potential Applications

“…[2,3,5,11,15] Although to the best of our knowledge, there has been no report on the use of citric acid as a cross-linking agent of electrospun PVA membranes. Xiao et al [3] was able to make water stable PAA-PVA composite by electrospinning a 10% polymer solution of a 1:1 ratio of PAA-PVA and curing at 130 °C for 45 min.…”

Mechanical Properties of Pva Nanofiber Textiles With Incorporated Nanodiamonds, Copper and Silver Ions

“…As a side effect, there was an increase in the crystallinity of the PVA and consequently in its elastic stiffness. In their study, Çay a Miraftab [11] used 1,2,3,4-butane tetra carboxylic acid (BTCA) to stabilize PVA. The final hydrogel was water-resistant, and, in addition, its thermal properties were improved.…”