Electrospun Hybrid Microfibers of Polylactic Acid with Plasma Polypyrrole Particles with Ultrahydrophobic Surface for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

This work presents a study on the formation of hybrid electrospun fibers of polylactic acid (PLA) with insoluble polypyrrole (PPy) particles inside with the objective to prepare ultrahydrophobic fibers for biomedical applications. Krebs-Ringer and phosphate-buffered saline solutions were used as test solutions of human fluids. The PPy particles were synthesized by plasma with diameter in the 60-1000 nm range and were suspended in a PLA-chloroform solution with a PPy/PLA = 0.027 mass ratio. PLA fibers with PPy particles inside were formed electrospinning this suspension obtaining diameters in the 0.12-9.0 µm range with average between 1.65 and 1.85 µm. Contact angles of the fibers with the test solutions were measured in the 113°-147° interval, most of them in the ultrahydrophobic (120°-150°) region. The lowest angles were obtained with particles synthesized at the lowest power (20 W) and were like those obtained on PLA fibers. The highest angles were measured on the fibers with the particles synthesized at the highest synthesis power (100 W), with difference up to 15°. This difference in the angles was correlated with the resonant ≈ C ≈ groups of the particles through the fiber ultraviolet absorption.