Ag-AgCl nanoparticles fixation on electrospun PVA fibres: Technological concept and progress

Abstract

Polymer-metal based material with unique 3D structure is an attractive substrate for the development of biomedical applications. A novel preparation of the composite from polymer fibres and silver nanoparticles has been designed through: (1) preparation of silver nanoparticles by phytosynthesis and (2) incorporation of these nanoparticles in a fibrous membrane prepared by electrospinning. The nanoparticle biosynthesis was performed in a pure environmental-friendly, easy, static, bottom-up in vitro regime using Tilia sp. leachate. TEM and XRD depict the formation, stabilisation and encapsulation of crystalline silver (14 +/- 9 nm) nanoparticles (NPs) in one simple step with low tendency to aggregate. We achieved successful incorporation in the uniform electrospun 221 +/- 24 nm poly(vinylalcohol) fibres, and this confirms the possibility of its use in the biomedical field. Both SEM with EDX and TEM analysis determined fibre uniformity with the presence of silver NPs, and ICP-AES confirmed the relatively similar metal concentration throughout the triplicate measurement of fibre structures on the 2 x 2 cm area in the following manner: 0.303 +/- 0.018 wt. %, 0.282 +/- 0.017 wt. %, and 0.281 +/- 0.017 wt. %. Our hypothesis is based on previously verified preparation of active silver NPs and the easily prepared PVA electrospun fibres which act as a water soluble matrix. The simple methodology of incorporating biosynthetically prepared NPs in the PVA fibers highlights the effectiveness of this material, with simple release from water-soluble PVA and final activation of the prepared NPs.