Novel biohybrid materials by electrospinning: Nanofibers of poly(ethylene oxide) and living bacteria

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) fibers with living bacteria were obtained by electrospinning of aqueous dispersions of E. coli and Microccus luteus bacteria with PEO. E. coli as well as Micrococcus luteus bacteria survived electrospin ning process. However, E. coli did not survive dry storage in PEO nonwovens at 20 degrees C for more than one hour. In contrast, Micrococcus luteus survived at least 250 h dry storage at 20 degrees C in eletrospun PEO nonwovens.