The Effect of the PVA/Chitosan/Citric Acid Ratio on the Hydrophilicity of Electrospun Nanofiber Meshes

Abstract

In this study, scaffolds were prepared via an electrospinning method for application in oral cavities. The hydrophilicity of the fiber mesh is of paramount importance, as it promotes cell spreading; however, the most commonly used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and other hydrophilic fiber meshes immediately disintegrate in aqueous media. In contrast, the excessive hydrophobicity of the scaffolds already inhibits cells adhesion on the surface. Therefore, the hydrophilicity of the fiber meshes needed to be optimized. Scaffolds with different polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan/citric acid ratios were prepared. The addition of chitosan and the heat initiated cross-linkage of the polymers via citric acid enhanced the scaffolds’ hydrophobicity. The optimization of this property could be followed by contact angle measurements, and the increased number of cross-linkages were also supported by IR spectroscopy results. The fibers’ physical parameters were monitored via low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). As biocompatibility is essential for dental applications, Alamar Blue assay was used to prove that meshes do not have any negative effects on dental pulp stem cells. Our results showed that the optimization of the fiber nets was successful, as they will not disintegrate in intraoral cavities during dental applications.

Thermal curing to improve properties of genipin-crosslinking chitosan film

“…The cured films had the highest contact angle values, indicating that thermal curing played an important role in decreasing the hydrophilic nature of the film surface. Similar effect had been observed in the works ofRivero et al (2013) andCzibulya et al (2021).…”

Multifunctional low temperature-cured PVA/PVP/citric acid-based hydrogel forming microarray patches: Physicochemical characteristics and hydrophilic drug interaction

“…CA contains three carboxylic acid groups, where the two terminal groups are often involved in crosslinking reactions. It is relatively biocompatible compared to other alternatives, such as glutaraldehyde, and is often considered a green crosslinker due to its biological and environmental safety [18,21,22]. Heat treatment at 130 • C has been used in many studies involving PVA/PVP/CA HF-MAPs formulations [13,18,19].…”

A Water-Soluble Epoxy-Based Green Crosslinking System for Stabilizing PVA Nanofibers

“…For instance, glutaraldehyde is currently one of the most-used crosslinking agents in the fiber industry for producing vinylon fibers, albeit they can be correlated to neurodegenerative disease, heart disease and some types of cancer. Because these crosslinking agents are toxic and can cause harm to the environment, environmental friendly water-based crosslinking agents, e.g., citric acid [32][33][34], tartaric acid [35], polyacrylic acid [12,36] and water-based blocked isocyanate [37], have become more and more employed. They may still face many obstacles in practice, including low crosslinking efficiency, acidic and corrosive solution and uneven mixing with PVA molecules due to the forms of long macromolecular chains or emulsions.…”