The formation of web-like connection among electrospun chitosan/PVA fiber network by the reinforcement of ellipsoidal calcium carbonate

Study on the Preparation and Lipophilic Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Nanofiber Membranes via Green Electrospinning

As an environmentally friendly water-soluble polymer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has attracted extensive attention because of its non-toxic, degradable, low cost, and good biocompatibility. Electrospinning is a kind of nanotechnology, and the nanofiber membrane prepared by it has the advantages of large surface area-to-volume ratios, nano- to micron-sized fibers, etc. Herein, a simple and facile one-step green electrospinning method was developed to fabricate various environmentally friendly PVA nanofiber membranes. The lipophilic properties of PVA membranes were investigated and optimized according different PVA concentrations. The PVA electrospun fiber prepared from the solution at a concentration of 10 wt% had the highest adsorption capacity for the adsorption of new and waste engine oils, and the waste engine oil adsorption capacity (12.70 g/g) was higher than that of new engine oil (11.67 g/g). It also has a relatively large BET surface area (12.05 m2/g), a pore volume (0.04 cm3/g), and an appropriate pore diameter (13.69 nm) and fiber diameter (174.21 nm). All electrospun PVA membranes showed excellent lipophilic properties due to their oil contact angles of much less than 30°. Therefore, PVA electrospun fibrous membranes have great application potential in the field of purifying engine oil due to the excellent lipophilic properties and oil absorption capacity.

Fabrication and applications of bioactive chitosan-based organic-inorganic hybrid materials: A review

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials like bone, shells, and teeth can be found in nature, which are usually composed of biomacromolecules and nanoscale inorganic ingredients. Synergy of organic-inorganic components in hybrid materials render them outstanding and versatile performance. Chitosan is commonly used organic materials in bionic hybrid materials since its bioactive properties and could be controllable tailored by various means to meet complex conditions in different applications. Among these fabrication means, hybridization was favored for its convenience and efficiency. This review discusses three kinds of chitosan-based hybrid materials: hybridized with hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate, and clay respectively, which are the representative of phosphate, carbonate, and hydrous aluminosilicates. Here, we reported the latest developments of the preparation methods, composition, structure and applications of these bioactive hybrid materials, especially in the biomedical field. Despite the great progress was made in bioactive organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on chitosan, some challenges and specific directions are still proposed for future development in this review.

Electrospinning of chitosan-based nanofibers: from design to prospective applications

Chitosan is a biopolymer originating from renewable resources, with great properties which make it an attractive candidate for plenty of applications of contemporary interest. By manufacturing chitosan into nanofibers using the electrospinning method, its potential is amplified due to the enhancement of the active surface and the low preparation cost. Many attempts were made with the aim of preparing chitosan-based nanofibers with controlled morphology targeting their use for tissue engineering, wound healing, food packaging, drug delivery, air and water purification filters. This was a challenging task, which resulted in a high amount of data, sometimes with apparent contradictory results. In this light, the goal of the paper is to present the main routes reported in the literature for chitosan electrospinning, stressing the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. Special emphasis is placed on the influence of various electrospinning parameters on the morphological characteristics of the fibers and their suitability for distinct applications.

Chitosan Natural Polymer Material for Improving Antibacterial Properties of Textiles

In recent years, the textile industry has been seeking to develop innovative products. It is a good choice to organically combine materials with superior functional characteristics and commercial textiles to form products with excellent performance. In particular, textiles made of biological functional materials are often beneficial to human health, which is an interesting research direction. As a biopolymer material, chitosan has the advantages of strong availability, low cost, excellent safety, outstanding performance, etc., particularly the antibacterial property, and has broad application prospects in the textile field. This review provides an overview of the latest literature and summarizes recent innovations and state-of-the-art technologies that can add value to textiles. To this end, preparation of chitosan fiber, synthesis of chitosan nanofiber, antibacterial activity of chitosan fiber, antibacterial activity of chitosan nanofiber, etc., will be discussed. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of chitosan-based materials used in textiles are evaluated. Importantly, this review can not only help researchers understand the development status of antibacterial textiles, but also help researchers discover and solve problems in this field through comparative reading.

Biomimetic biohybrid nanofibers containing bovine serum albumin as a bioactive moiety for wound dressing

For the first time, a biohybrid nanofibrous wound dressing is developed via green electrospinning of a blend solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (1 and 3 wt%) and polycaprolactone (PCL). In such a system, the components are miscible and interact through hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl group of PCL and the amine group of BSA, as verified by ATR-FTIR. As a result, the biohybrid nanofibers show a superior elastic modulus and elongation (300% and 58%, respectively) compared with the neat PCL nanofibers. The included protein induces a hydrophilicity effect to the PCL nanofibers, notably at the higher BSA content (3 wt%). In contrast to the neat nanofibers, the biohybrid ones are bioactive and encourage formation of biominerals (made of amorphous calcium carbonate) on the surface, after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). Based on the WST-8 cell viability tests, NIH3T3 fibroblast cells were seen to properly interact with the biohybrid mats and to proliferate in their proximity. SEM images show that the cells largely adhere onto such nanofibers even more than they do on the neat ones and adopt a flattened and stretched shape. In addition, the live/dead assay and phalloidin/DAPI staining assay confirm large cell viability and normal cell morphology on the biohybrid nanofiber mats after 4 days incubation. Taken together, BSA/PCL nanofibers are able to offer optimum mechanical properties (elasticity) as well as mineralization which can potentially stimulate the wound healing process, and can be considered a suitable candidate for wound dressing applications.

Chitosan based-nanoparticles and nanocapsules: Overview, physicochemical features, applications of a nanofibrous scaffold, and bioprinting

Recent advancements in the synthesis, properties, and applications of chitosan as the second after cellulose available biopolymer in nature were discussed in this review. A general overview of processing and production procedures from A to Z was highlighted. Chitosan exists in three polymorphic forms which differ in degree of crystallinity (α, β, and γ). Thus, the degree of deacetylation, crystallinity, surface area, and molecular mass significantly affect most applications. Otherwise, the synthesis of chitosan nanofibers is suffering from many drawbacks that were recently treated by co-electrospun with other polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene oxide (PEO), and polycaprolactone (PCL). Ultimately, this review focuses on the area of new trend utilization of chitosan nanoparticles as nanospheres and nanocapsules, in cartilage and bone regenerative medicine. Owing to its biocompatibility, bioavailability, biodegradability, and costless synthesis, chitosan is a promising biopolymeric structure for water remediation, drug delivery, antimicrobials, and tissue engineering.

Facile and cost-effective preparation of PVA/modified calcium carbonate nanocomposites via ultrasonic irradiation: Application in adsorption of heavy metal and oxygen permeation property

This work is focused on the fabrication and determination of physicochemical behaviors of new poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposites (NCs) containing various contents of calcium carbonate (CC) nanoparticles modified with γ-aminopropyl triethoxy silane (ATS) (henceforth designated as CC-ATS) which could be a crucial treatment for their application as gas barrier to O₂ gas and uptake of metal ions in waste waters. Samples were produced through the solution casting method under ultrasound irradiation. Thermal and mechanical performances were also evaluated for all ultrasonically synthesized nanocomposites and the results indicated that thermal and mechanical stability are dramatically enhanced by addition of a small amount of modified CC-ATS within PVA up to 5wt% and higher amounts has low effect on the composite properties. The result of oxygen gas permeability of PVA showed a 25.44% reduction by adding of 5wt% of CC-ATS into polymer matrix. Experimental adsorption isotherm data indicated that PVA NC has more efficiency for Cu(II) adsorption relative to pure PVA and well simulated by Langmuir model with maximum adsorption capacity of 45.45mgg^-1. Moreover, study of sorption kinetic indicated that the solute adsorption on PVA/CC-ATS NC 5wt% was well modeled using the pseudo-second-order.

Defining the role of nanonetting in the electrical behaviour of composite nanofiber/nets

The electrical behaviour of MWCNT-based composite nanofiber/nets can be tuned by controlling the morphology of the secondary nanoweb.