PMMA and PVP blended nanofibers with incorporated antimicrobial agent: Spectroscopy and mass spectrometry characterization

Abstract

Electrospun polymeric nanofibers incorporated with some medicines or biologically active nanoparticles have a huge range of various applications in biomedical fields such as wound dressing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Blending several polymers with different properties allows one to obtain a new material with improved physicochemical and mechanical characteristics, as well as to control the incorporation and release of medical agents, including antimicrobial, antifungal, and other substances. In this work, a novel approach to prepare a blend of two polymers [polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)] to produce biocompatible nanofibers with incorporated antibacterial agents — phenylalanine or silver nanoparticles is proposed. The diameter of the obtained nanofibers is in the range of 2–4 μm. Antimicrobial agents are incorporated in PVP in an aqueous solution, then the prepared adduct is dried and mixed with PMMA in an organic solvent. In this nanofiber mat, PMMA provides the mechanical strength of the mat and assists in the gradual release of the antimicrobial agents. The formation of the PVP:PMMA nanofibers with incorporated antimicrobial agents at different stages was monitored by spectroscopy. The release of antimicrobial agents from the nanofibers mat during wetting was studied and confirmed by spectroscopy and mass spectrometry investigations.