Layer-by-Layer Assembled, Amphiphilic and Antibacterial Hybrid Electrospun Mat Made from Polypropylene and Chitosan Fibers

Abstract

In this study, hybrid fiber mat (HFPP-CS) consisting of both chlorinated polypropylene and chitosan fibers (FPP-Cl and FCS) is obtained by assembling layer-by-layer for the first time using electrospinning process. Morphological, wettability, structural and thermal properties of HFPP-CS are investigated in detail by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle (WCA) measurement, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry analyses, respectively, comparing with FPP-Cl and FCS. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of all samples was evaluated against to gram positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and gram negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. SEM analysis proves to HFPP-CS has a circular and smooth morphology and also comprises of microscale FPP-Cl and nanoscale FCS layers within the range of 2.1–2.7 μm and 175–475 nm, respectively. The incorporation of nano-FCS layer on micro-FPP-Cl layer leads to diminution in the hydrophobicity from WCA value of 137° ± 2 to 124° ± 2, but enhancement in the thermostability and glass transition temperature of the resulting fiber mat. The antibacterial activity results show that HFPP-CS has higher inhibition effect against to S. aureus and E. coli than FPP-Cl but lower than FCS. In general, it is anticipated that the prepared amphiphilic and antibacterial HFPP-CS can be employed as potential biomaterial for a variety of bioengineering applications. Graphical Abstract: The novel hybrid fiber mat having natural and synthetic polymer layers has prepared by assembling layer-by-layer using electrospinning. The achieved amphiphilic hybrid fiber mat demonstrates higher thermal properties than that of each pristine fiber layer. The hybrid fiber mat has good antibacterial activity against to both gram positive and gram negative bacteria.