Water-soluble electrospun strip based on the PVP/PVA/ mint extract modified with chitosan-glucosamine for the improvement of water quality

Water-soluble nanocomposite strip samples were prepared based on the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and chitosan or chitosan-glucosamine (C-G) via electrospinning process. Degree of deacetylation (DD), water solubility, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirmed that C-G with DD of 52.11% had the best solubility in water at room temperature. Electrospun strip samples that contained C-G as an additive in their structure (S4-S6) had shown excellent water solubility. XRD and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results in accordance with water-solubility study of strip samples confirmed that S4-S6 had a low crystalline portion rather than others. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) verified the validity of chitosan modification. Water contact angle (WCA) verified that the strip sample with 8wt% PVP-K90 had the lowest contact angle and the highest surface free energy. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) revealed a uniform and bead-less structure of obtained nanofibers. Also, In-vitro cytotoxicity assay confirmed that strip samples had more than 85% cell viability which demonstrated the biocompatibility of them. Based on the achieved results, S5 was the best sample and selected for antioxidant activity analysis. Hydroxyl scavenging, superoxide anion scavenging, and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging were performed for evaluating antioxidant properties of samples and the results exhibited that S5-3 and S5-4 samples which contained the highest amount of mint extract had the highest antioxidant properties.

Automated summary

Water-soluble nanocomposite strip samples were prepared using electrospinning process with PVP, PVA, and chitosan or C-G. C-G with a DD of 52.11% showed the best water solubility, and samples containing C-G as an additive demonstrated excellent properties. The selected sample, S5, had the highest antioxidant activity due to the mint extract content and displayed good biocompatibility.