The rising demand in therapeutic biomaterial such as bioactive wound dressing material required the research in advanced biomaterials to relief government’s financial burden and improve human health quality. In this project, to combine antibacterial and wound healing property from silver (Ag) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) respectively, the silver nanoparticle-attached PLGA nanofibers were synthesized with novel environmental-friendly post-electrospinning treatment. The smallest uniform PLGA nanofibers were confirmed with average diameter of 149nm from dichloromethane and ethanol mixture as least-toxic solvent. Positive changes in diameter were shown by adjusting the applied voltage and the parameters to produce PLGA nanofiber at 150nm, 350nm, 450nm and 550nm were stan...[ Read more ]

The rising demand in therapeutic biomaterial such as bioactive wound dressing material required the research in advanced biomaterials to relief government’s financial burden and improve human health quality. In this project, to combine antibacterial and wound healing property from silver (Ag) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) respectively, the silver nanoparticle-attached PLGA nanofibers were synthesized with novel environmental-friendly post-electrospinning treatment. The smallest uniform PLGA nanofibers were confirmed with average diameter of 149nm from dichloromethane and ethanol mixture as least-toxic solvent. Positive changes in diameter were shown by adjusting the applied voltage and the parameters to produce PLGA nanofiber at 150nm, 350nm, 450nm and 550nm were standardized. This simple adjustment to control fiber diameter was not shown if replacing the solvent by acetone or tetrahydrofuran. Spherical BIORIMA silver and gold nanoparticles were confirmed at the size of 16nm and 14nm respectively. UV-Vis spectra, crystallite structure, valence band information and molecular confirmation of silver and gold nanoparticles were also done with different material characterization tools. To overcome the super-hydrophobicity of neat PLGA nanofiber, the silver and gold nanoparticles attachment were conducted after calcium chloride salt treatment to allow better physical contact. Weight percentage of silver at 7.6% was measured in treated PLGA nanofiber for 90 minutes, meanwhile, the nanoparticle structure and nanofiber network retained in this treatment. The 7.6% Ag-PLGA nanofibers were confirmed with antibacterial activities on E. Coli and S. Aureus comparable to 0.254% sodium hypochlorite. The outstanding performance suggested this novel environmental-friendly post-electrospinning treatment allowed better control of the composite structures, enhancement in material efficiency and least pollution to environment while preserving antibacterial activities for biological applications. With the adoption of Au-PLGA nanofiber for the comprehensive study of nanoparticles movement in-vivo in future, it is foreseeable the Ag-PLGA nanofibers can benefit the public health system economically and improve human health quality.