Prospects of Polymeric Nanofibers Loaded with Essential Oils for Biomedical and Food-Packaging Applications

Abstract

Essential oils prevent superbug formation, which is mainly caused by the continuous use of synthetic drugs. This is a significant threat to health, the environment, and food safety. Plant extracts in the form of essential oils are good enough to destroy pests and fight bacterial infections in animals and humans. In this review article, different essential oils containing polymeric nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning are reviewed. These nanofibers containing essential oils have shown applications in biomedical applications and as food-packaging materials. This approach of delivering essential oils in nanoformulations has attracted considerable attention in the scientific community due to its low price, a considerable ratio of surface area to volume, versatility, and high yield. It is observed that the resulting nanofibers possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Therefore, they can reduce the use of toxic synthetic drugs that are utilized in the cosmetics, medicine, and food industries. These nanofibers increase barrier properties against light, oxygen, and heat, thereby protecting and preserving the food from oxidative damage. Moreover, the nanofibers discussed are introduced with naturally derived chemical compounds in a controlled manner, which simultaneously prevents their degradation. The nanofibers loaded with different essential oils demonstrate an ability to increase the shelf-life of various food products while using them as active packaging materials.

Phosphorylated Curdlan Gel/Polyvinyl Alcohol Electrospun Nanofibres Loaded with Clove Oil with Antibacterial Activity

“…This mechanical behaviour of the loaded PCurd/PVA electrospun membrane could be attributed to the intermolecular interactions between the polymers chains and the low molecular compound (CEO). These new interactions led to the increase in friction force between the fibres and, therefore, an increase in ultimate tensile strength and the elongation at break without the change of Young’s modulus magnitude [ 60 , 61 ].…”

Development and Characterizations of Engineered Electrospun Bio-Based Polyurethane Containing Essential Oils

“…Figure 6c shows the wettability of TPU/OO fibers at different OO concentrations. Similarly, the increase in OO concentrations (1,5,10,15,20, and 25 wt %) in the nanofiber results in a decrease in the contact angle values (90 ± 4.0°, 88 ± 1.3°, 81 ± 1.2°, 75 ± 0.4°, and 77 ± 1.5°). TPU/OO fibers are observed to be less hydrophobic than pristine TPU fibers.…”

“…Provided that the TPU concentration (12.5 wt %) remains constant, EOs were added separately into the TPU solution at different concentrations (1,5,10,15,20,25 wt %), then left for 24 h under magnetic stirring. Table 1 summarizes the all-solution concentrations obtained for each essential oil.…”

“…Argan, black pepper, candeia, cinnamon, clove, garlic, lavender, limonene, olive, orange, oregano, palmarosa, pomegranate seed, and tea tree oils were incorporated or encapsulated into the nanofibers from synthetic polymers (polyamidoamine (PAMAM), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyethylene oxide (PEO), polylactic acid (PLA), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)), polysaccharides (alginate, cellulose, chitosan, dextran pullulan, and starch), and food proteins (collagen, gelatin, hordein, silk, and zein) [8][9][10][11]. Among these carriers, polyurethane (PU), which is an FDA-approved polymer, is often preferred as a material for forming a nanofibrous mat due to its superior properties, such as its chemical stability, mass transport, and excellent mechanical properties [12].…”

Comparison of antibacterial property of herbal plant–based bio-active extract loaded polymer electrospun nanofibrous mat wound dressings

“…36 Rather, A.H. et al (2021) also studied the encapsulation of various therapeutic essential oils in polymeric nanofibers to develop functional membranes for biomedical and food-packaging applications. 37 Das, U. et al 34 have reviewed the importance of medicinal plant bioactive molecules and bioactive molecules loaded polymeric constructs for wound healing. These constructs are plant extract/polymeric hydrogel, plant extract/polymeric membrane, plant extract/polymeric porous, plant extract/polymeric nanofibrous, plant extract/polymeric nanocomposite constructs.…”