Chitosan-TiO₂ microparticles LBL immobilized nanofibrous mats via electrospraying for antibacterial applications

The antibacterial materials with biodegradable and biocompatible nature have unveiled novel prospects to combat the bacterial infection, which has always been a troubling and challenging issue in the biomedical field. In this study, chitosan (CS) and Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) microparticles were well immobilized on polylactic acid (PLA) mats by electrospinning-electrospraying hybrid technique. The surface morphology, chemical composition and characteristic group of the mats were characterized. The results indicated that CS/TiO₂ microparticles were successfully immobilized on the surface of PLA mats. In addition, the antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of the composite mats were investigated to confirm that the layer-by-layer immobilization of CS/TiO₂ microparticles via electrospraying could enhance the antibacterial effect and biocompatibility of the mats. At the same time, the PLA-(CS/TiO₂-1.5%)_1.5 mats exhibited the best performance in antibacterial effect (up to about 95%) and cell viability (nearly 92% and 95% at 3 d and 5 d). The composite mats have great potential as an effective antibacterial material for the biomedical applications.