Development of Silver-Based Bactericidal Composite Nanofibers by Airbrushing

• Published in: Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology Vol. 18; no. 4; p. 2951
• Main Authors: Bhullar, Sukhwinder K, Rana, Deepti, Ozsel, Burçak Kaya, Orhan, Mehmet, Jun, Martin B G, Buttar, Harpal S, Ostrovidov, Serge, Ramalingam, Murugan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-04-2018
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Nanofibers; Silver; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects
• ISSN: 1533-4880
• DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2018.14376

In this article, we report a simple, cost-effective and eco-friendly method of airbrushing for the fabrication of antibacterial composite nanofibers using Nylon-6 and silver chloride (AgCl). The Nylon-6 is a widely used polymer for various biomedical applications because of its excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties. Similarly, silver has also been known for their antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. In order to enhance the antibacterial functionality of the Nylon-6, composite nanofibers in combination with AgCl have been fabricated using airbrush method. The chemical functional groups and morphological studies of the airbrushed Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers were carried out by FTIR and SEM, respectively. The antibacterial activity of airbrushed Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers was evaluated using Gram +ve (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram -ve (Escherichia coli) bacterial strains. The results showed that the airbrushed Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers have better antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains than the airbrushed Nylon-6 nanofibers. Therefore, the airbrushed Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers could be used as a potential antibacterial scaffolding system for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.