Preparation of Chitosan/PVA Nanofiber Web and Film Using Co-electrospinning and Their Properties

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a non-toxic, water-soluble, biocompatible, and biodegradable synthetic polymer, which is widely used in the biomedical field. As one of the most abundant natural polysaccharides, chitosan is well known for its biocompatible and biodegradable properties. Blended chitosan/PVA nanofiber webs and films were investigated for applications in the biomedical field. Pure chitosan nanofiber web, blended nanofiber web, and skin-core nanofiber webs were prepared by electrospinning. Chitosan/PVA blended films were prepared by the solution casting method. Scanning Electron Microscope photographs showed that the skin-core nanofiber web (chitosan skin, PVA core) had the best uniformity and was suitable for electrospinning. The PVA, chitosan, and blend films had better hydrophilicity and moisture regain than PVA, blend, and skin/core nanofibers. The FT-IR and DSC analyses demonstrated compatibility between PVA and chitosan. Also, nanofiber web and films with chitosan had better mechanical properties than pure PVA nanofiber web and film; the presence of chitosan reduced the tensile strength of nanofiber webs and films, but increased their Young`s modulus. All nanofiber webs showed remarkably similar elongation, and chitosan was shown to reduce the elongation of films. This study concluded that blended chitosan/PVA nanofiber web and films are well suited for applications in medical materials, such as wound dressing.