Electrospun Copoly(ether imide) Nanofibers Doped with Silver- Loaded Zeolite as Materials for Biomedical Applications

One of the most versatile techniques to fabricate micro-/nanoscaled nonwoven fibrous materials is represented by electrospinning. Due to its easy availability and versatility, increasing efforts worldwide have focused on the preparation of natural and/or synthetic composite membranes that eventually mimic the artificial extracellular matrix. Electrospun composite membranes based on copoly(ether imide)s derived from Jeffamine, and additionally doped with silver-loaded zeolite L nanoparticles (ze-Ag+), have been successfully produced in the present work via a solution electrospinning process. The morphology of the developed electrospun membranes based on pure copoly(ether imide)s (co-PEI-0) and doped copoly(ether imide)s (co-PEI-0/zeolite or co-PEI-0/silver-containing zeolite L nanoparticles) was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the homogeneous distribution of the nanoparticles within the electrospun fibers has been introspected by means of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Young's modulus was reduced from 0.677 MPa for pure co-PEI electrospun fibers to 0.221 MPa when silver-loaded zeolite L nanoparticles were attached to the electrospun composite membranes. Antimicrobial activity of the products demonstrated that the samples containing silver-exchanged zeolite L nanoparticles present an inhibitory effect against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) bacteria. Furthermore, a biocompatibility check by studying the cell viability and cell morphology of the developed composite membranes revealed no cytotoxic activity.

Automated summary

In this study, electrospinning was used to fabricate low Young's modulus composite membranes based on copoly(ether imide)s and silver-loaded zeolite L nanoparticles. These membranes exhibited antimicrobial activity and showed biocompatibility.