TITLE:
Electrospinning of Gelatin Functionalized with Silver Na-noparticles for Nanofiber Fabrication
AUTHORS:
Marwa A. Oraby, Ahmed I. Waley, Ahmed I. El-Dewany, Ebtesam A. Saad, Bothaina M. Abd El-Hady
KEYWORDS:
Electrospinning; Gelatin; Silver; Nanofibers; Nanoparticles; Antimicrobial Activity
JOURNAL NAME:
Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Material Science,
Vol.3 No.4,
October
10,
2013
ABSTRACT: The present paper deals with gelatin nanofibres functionalized with
silver nanoparticles, prepared by electrospinning using solutions of gelatin mixed with silver nitrate (AgNO3).
As a common solvent for gelatin and silver nitrate (AgNO3), a mixture
of acetic acid and water (70:30 v/v) was selected. In this system, acetic acid was
used as a solvent for gelatin, and at the same time reducing agent for silver ions
in solution. Silver nanoparticles (nAg) were stabilized through a mechanism
that involves an interaction of the oxygen atoms of the carbonyl groups of
gelatin. The viscosity and the conductivity of the gelatinous solutions were
found to increase with the solution concentration. There is an observed decrease in the viscosity of the nAg containing gelatin solutions with
the aging time increasing, whereas the conductiity of the AgNO3—containing
gelatin solutions was greater than that of the base gelatin solution. The
gelatin nanofibres functionalized with silver nanoparticles were characterized
by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
X-ray diffraction (XRD) and antimicrobial test. The results of investigations
by TEM and XRD confirmed the presence of silver nanoparticles with diameters in
the range of (2 - 10 nm), uniformly distributed over the surface of smooth nanofibres
with an average diameter of 70 nm. The release of silver ions from both the 2-
and 4-hrs crosslinked nAg containing gelatin fiber mats by a total immersion
method in buffer and distilled water occurred rapidly during the first 60 minutes, and
increased gradually afterwards. Lastly, the tests demonstrated that gelatin/Ag
nanofibers have a good antimicrobial activity against some common bacteria
found on burned wounds. The anti-bacterial activity of these materials was
greatest against Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeroginosa ≈
Candida albicans.