Study of nanofiber scaffolds of PAA, PAA/CS, and PAA/ALG for its potential use in biotechnological applications

ABSTRACTIn recent times, electrospun nanofibers have been widely studied from several biotechnological approaches; in this work, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) solutions mixed with chitosan and alginate were electrospun and characterized to determine the behavior of these fibers when used in combination with bacteria, different samples were incubated with the bacterial strains: Streptomyces spp., Micromonospora spp., and Escherichia coli and a OD600 test was performed. The formation of nanofibers via electrospinning and the physicochemical properties of the obtained fibers were evaluated. Results showed that the presence of chitosan enhanced the thermal stability of PAA, since PAA/alginate fibers lost 5% of their mass at 41°C, whereas PAA/chitosan lost this amount at around 125°C. The fibers demonstrated suitable characteristics to be used as a bacteria bioreactor.