Development of Silver-Based Bactericidal Composite Nanofibers by Airbrushing

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Nylon-6 is a biocompatible polymer with good mechanical properties, suitable for biomedical uses.
• Silver and its compounds, like silver chloride (AgCl), possess well-documented antimicrobial properties.
• Enhancing Nylon-6's antibacterial capabilities is crucial for advanced biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a cost-effective and eco-friendly method for fabricating antibacterial composite nanofibers.
• To combine Nylon-6 with silver chloride (AgCl) to create enhanced antibacterial materials.
• To evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of the fabricated composite nanofibers.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers using an airbrushing technique.
• Characterization of chemical functional groups and morphology using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
• Assessment of antibacterial activity against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers via airbrushing.
• Confirmation of chemical and morphological characteristics of the composite nanofibers.
• Demonstrated superior antibacterial activity of Nylon-6/AgCl nanofibers against both tested bacterial strains compared to Nylon-6 nanofibers alone.

Conclusions:

• The airbrushing method provides a simple, cost-effective, and eco-friendly route to produce antibacterial Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers.
• The fabricated composite nanofibers exhibit significant antibacterial properties.
• These Nylon-6/AgCl composite nanofibers show potential as antibacterial scaffolding for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.