Antimicrobial Electrospun Biopolymer Nanofiber Mats Functionalized with Graphene Oxide-Silver Nanocomposites

作者：de Faria Andreia F; Perreault Francois; Shaulsky Evyatar; Chavez Laura H Arias; Elimelech Menachem^*

来源：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2015, 7(23): 12751-12759.

DOI：10.1021/acsami.5b01639

• graphene oxide
• silver nanoparticles
• nanocomposites
• electrospun fibers
• antimicrobial properties

Functionalization of electrospun mats with antimicrobial nanomaterials is an attractive strategy to develop polymer coating materials to prevent bacterial colonization on surfaces. In this study we demonstrated a feasible approach to produce antimicrobial electrospun mats through a postfabrication binding of graphene-based nanocomposites to the nanofibers' surface. A mixture of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and chitosan was electrospun to yield cylindrical and narrow-diameter (356 nm) polymeric fibers. To achieve a robust antimicrobial property, the PLGA chitosan mats were functionalized with graphene oxide decorated with silver nanopartides (GO-Ag) via a chemical reaction between the carboxyl groups of graphene and the primary amine functional groups on the PLGA chitosan fibers using 3-(dimethylamino)propyl-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride and N-hydroxysuccinimide as cross-linking agents. The attachment of GO-Ag sheets to the surface of PLGA chitosan fibers was successfully revealed by scanning and transmission electron images. Upon direct contact with bacterial cells, the PLGA chitosan mats functionalized with GO-Ag nanocomposites were able to effectively inactivate both Gram-negative (Escherichia coil and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Our results suggest that covalent binding of GO-Ag nanocomposites to the surface of PLGA-chitosan mats opens up new opportunities for the production of cost-effective, scalable, and biodegradable coating materials with the ability to hinder microbial proliferation on solid surfaces.

• 出版日期2015-6-17