A conductive film of chitosan-polycaprolcatone-polypyrrole with potential in heart patch application

In this study, a novel polycaprolactone/chitosan/polypyrrole (PCL/chitosan/PPy) conductive composite film was fabricated. A polymer blend of PCL/chitosan (7:3) was selected and then 1, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt% of PPy was added to each solution. The addition of PPy to the PCL/chitosan blend resulted in decreased surface pit size and at higher concentration of PPy a porous structure was detected. The electrical conductivity of PCL/chitosan was 0.0164 +/- 0.008 mS/m but increased to 0.55 +/- 0.03 mS/m with the addition of 7.5% PPy. Hydrophilicty also improved with the addition of PPy as water contact angle changed from 107 +/- 2.1 degrees for PCL/chitosan to 101 +/- 3.5 degrees at 7.5% PPy. The tensile strength increased from 7.57 MPa for PCL/chitosan sample to 18.06, 16.02, 15.33 and 13.87 MPa for 1, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt% PPy, respectively. The films containing PPy had improved antibacterial properties against E. roll and S. aureus.