Development and Characterizations of Engineered Electrospun Bio-Based Polyurethane Containing Essential Oils

Abstract

We report the fabrication of bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fibrous scaffolds containing essential oils (EO). The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of essential oil type (St. John’s Wort oil (SJWO), lavender oil (LO), and virgin olive oil (OO))/concentration on the electrospinnability of TPU. The effects of applied voltage, flow rate, and end-tip distance on the diameter, morphology, and wettability of the TPU/EO electrospun fibers were investigated. The electrospun TPU/EO scaffolds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle (CA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The addition of oil resulted in an increase in the fiber diameter, reduction in the surface roughness, and, accordingly, a reduction in the contact angle of the composite fibers. TPU fibers containing SJWO and LO have a more flexible structure compared to the fibers containing OO. This comparative study fills the existing information gap and shows the benefits of the fabrication of essential-oil-incorporated electrospun fiber with morphology and size range with respect to the desired applications, which are mostly wound dressing and food packaging.

Electrospun Cactus Mucilage/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofibers as a Novel Wall Material for Dill Seed Essential Oil (Anethum graveolens L.) Encapsulation: Release and Antibacterial Activities

“…In fact, the addition of oil did not increase the water contact angle, indicating the complete encapsulation of oil and the absence of free oil on the surface of the nanofibers. This means that the CM/PVA and CM/PVA/DSEO electrospun nanofibers have the water absorption capacity required for an ideal scaffold, which is to be used in tissue wound dressings , and smart food packaging applications …”

“…This means that the CM/PVA and CM/ PVA/DSEO electrospun nanofibers have the water absorption capacity required for an ideal scaffold, which is to be used in tissue wound dressings 10,46 and smart food packaging applications. 8 3.6. Encapsulation Efficiency.…”

“…Electrospun nanofibers can be produced based on synthetic organic polymers and blends of solutions with natural polymers, including proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides . The use of biopolymers in electrospinning has attracted considerable attention due to their large specific surface area, good biocompatibility, biological activity, biodegradability, and nontoxicity, as well as their diversified potential in technical and biomedical applications such as functional textiles, filtration membranes, tissue engineering scaffolds, wound healing, drug delivery, cosmetics, essential oil encapsulation, and active packaging. − Despite recent progress in the conventional electrospinning process, technological challenges exist to produce core–shell nanofibers using emulsion electrospinning. It is a novel and simple method that has rapidly developed and attracted increasing interest as the process is considered more stable for encapsulating therapeutic and bioactive compounds and essential oils in a single carrier .…”

Smart composite nanofibers based on PLA/PEG with the addition of clove oil as thermal regulators

“…Surface properties and morphology of PLA-based composite nanofibers with PEG and essential oil differing in content were investigated using a ZEISS Sigma 300 Gemini Carl Zeiss 300VP (Jena, Germany) scanning electron microscope operating at an accelerating voltage of 5 kV. Gold coating with QUORUM Q150 RES (Laughton, Great Britain) was applied to nanofiber samples to increase conductivity before imaging [29,30].…”

Characterization of garlic oil/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes and application

“…Although garlic oil has many benefits, too high concentrations produce strong and pungent odors and tastes that affect people’s interest in food and its sensory quality ( 19 ). It is becoming very popular to study how to encapsulate garlic oil so that it retains its activity while reducing its flavor ( 18 , 20 , 21 ).…”