Reinforcing antibacterial hydrogels through electrospun nanofiber layers for soft tissue engineering

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Authors
Khan, Waseem Sabir
Pyarasani, Suhasini
Asmatulu, Ramazan
Advisors
Issue Date
2020-11-20
Type
Article
Keywords
Antibacterial hydrogels , Electrospun nanofibers , Mechanical strength , Reinforcement , Soft tissue engineering
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Khan, W.S., Pyarasani, S. & Asmatulu, R. Reinforcing antibacterial hydrogels through electrospun nanofiber layers for soft tissue engineering. J Polym Res 27, 380 (2020)
Abstract

Hydrogels are polymeric substances with hydrophilic features, which make them capable of holding large volume of liquids in their three-dimensional network structures. Hydrogels are finding wide ranges of applications in several biomedical, industrial, and environmental fields. In this study, hydrogels were prepared using chitosan powders, and reinforced with electrospun poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly vinyl chloride (PVC) nanofibers. The chitosan hydrogels were produced by dissolving chitosan in 1% acetic acid solution and mixing thoroughly. Gentamycin, an antibacterial agent, was also added to further increase the effectiveness of hydrogels for biomedical purposes. The prepared hydrogels were subjected to swelling, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and compression tests. The test results showed that hydrogel provided very high-water absorption capacity (10–11 folds). FTIR studies conducted on the hydrogel samples with different percentages of inclusions revealed that some of the compounds were covalently bonded in the structures, which directly affect the mechanical strength and liquid absorption capacity. The compression tests performed at different loads indicated that PVC and PMMA nanofibers reinforced hydrogels provided up to 75% much higher compression strengths when compared to the base-case (without any reinforcement).

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Publisher
Springer
Journal
Book Title
Series
Journal of Polymer Research;v.27:no.12:art.no.380
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
1022-9760
EISSN