Background:
Within the healthcare industry, including the care of chronic wounds, the
challenge of antimicrobial resistance continues to grow. As such, there is a need to develop new
treatments that can reduce the bioburden in wounds.
Objective:
The present study is focused on the development of polyaniline (PANI) / chitosan (CH)
nanofibrous electrospun membranes and evaluates their antibacterial properties.
Methods:
To this end, experimental design was used to determine the electrospinning windows of
both pure chitosan and PANI/CH blends of different ratios (1:3, 3:5, 1:1). The effect of key environmental
and process parameters (relative humidity and applied voltage) was determined, as well as the
effect of the PANI/CH ratio in the blend and the molecular interactions between PANI and chitosan
that led to jet stability.
Results:
The nanofibrous mats were evaluated regarding their morphology and antibacterial effect
against model gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains, namely B. subtilis and E. coli. High
PANI content mats show increased bactericidal activity against both bacterial strains.
Conclusion:
The blend fibre membranes combine the materials’ respective properties, namely electrical
conductivity, biocompatibility and antibacterial activity. This study suggests that electrospun
PANI/CH membranes are promising candidates for healthcare applications, such as wound dressings.