Development of Antibacterial Composite Electrospun Chitosan-Coated Polypropylene Materials

In this study, a natural antibacterial substance chitosan was coated with/without potassium sorbate (KS) (0.8% (w/w) of KS, 8% (w/v) chitosan) onto the polypropylene (PP) film by using electrospinning technique to obtain novel antibacterial composite materials for various applications such as wound dressing, tissue engineering, drug delivery and food packaging. Atmospheric pressure plasma surface treatment was applied onto polypropylene films in order to increase its wettability thus enhancing the adhesion capacity of the films and the optimum CA value was determined as 42.75 ± 0.80°. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses were realized to observe the morphological changes and chemical properties of the samples, respectively. Contact angle measurements, tensile testing, oxygen and water vapor transmission rate analyses were performed to obtain wettability values, mechanical properties and WVTRs, respectively. The WVTR was increased by plasma treatment and addition of KS (from 14.264 ± 0.214% to 21.020 ± 0.659%). The desired antibacterial performance of the samples was assessed with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by inhibition ratio calculation and disc diffusion assay. The highest inhibition ratios were found as 64% for S. aureus and 92% for E. coli for plasma-treated CS-KS-PP films.