Preparation of antibacterial PVA and PEO nanofibers containing Lawsonia Inermis (henna) leaf extracts

Abstract

Concerns about health issues and environmental pollution stimulate research to find new health and hygiene related products with healing properties and minimum negative effect on the environment. Development of new, natural antibacterial agents has become one of the most important research areas to combat some pathogens such as Gram- positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, algae, yeast, and some microorganisms which cause serious human infections. Lawsonia Inermis (henna) leaf extracts for preparation of antibacterial poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers via electrospinning technique were investigated. PEO and PVA based electrospun fibers containing henna extract were verified by the appearance of FTIR peaks corresponding to the pure extract. Our study demonstrates that 2.793 wt.% Li in PVA and PEO based solutions showed bactericidal effects against Staphylococcus aureus and bacteriostatic action to Escherichia coli. Concentrations of henna leaf extract strongly impacted antibacterial activities against both bacteria. Henna leaves have a great potential to be used as a source of a potent eco-friendly antimicrobial agent.

Bioactive Applications for Electrospun Fibers

“…Napralert database, the world's largest natural product database currently documents 58850 plant species, from which 6550 plants exhibit significant antimicrobial activity and most of this plants possess extracts that can be used to treat infectious diseases. 63 Avci et al 64 reported the use of Lawsonia inermis (henna) as antimicrobial for the production of PEO and PVA nanofibers with bacteriostatic effect against Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. Antimicrobial peptides are a wide family of small proteins with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.…”

Flexible poly(styrene‐ethylene‐butadiene‐styrene) hybrid nanofibers for bioengineering and water filtration applications

“…This unique chemical structure has led to the advantages of both properties of an elastomer and being processed as a thermoplastic material. The soft elastomeric part of SEBS shows high resistance to thermal degradation while the hard polystyrene section provides good thermoplastic performance as supported by the crystal formation . Additionally, the styrenic block copolymer has remarkable mechanical properties such as higher tensile strength with excellent elongation before break and elasticity, in addition to ease of deformation at ambient temperature.…”

Antibacterial Films Based on PVA and PVA–Chitosan Modified with Poly(Hexamethylene Guanidine)

“…In addition to chitosan [9], the most common antibacterial additives that are used in the modification of PVA's potential to inhibit the growth of microorganisms include silver nanoparticles [16], ZnO beads [10], plant extracts [24], nanocellulose [25], N-halamine [8], and poly(hexamethylene guanidine) (PHMG) [4]. PHMG is an antibacterial agent that is used in the range of antimicrobial polymeric materials [26,27].…”