Characterization of polyamide-6/ propolis blended electrospun fibers

Polyamide-6 (PA-6) nanofibers and PA-6/propolis ethanolic extract (EEP) blended fibers were prepared having electrospun their solutions in formic acid as solvent. The effect of concentrations of PA-6 and also EEP in polymer solutions on the morphology and physicochemical characteristics of their electrospun fibers was investigated. The analysis of FESEM images showed the mean diameter of fibers increased from 487- 682 nm with increasing PA-6 concentration in the range of 25-40 % w/v. While, increasing EEP concentration (20-50% (w/w)) in PA-6/EEP system caused the increasing fiber mean diameters from 943- 1773 nm. Partially high aspect ratio nanofibers were observed only in the PA-6 systems. Antioxidant activity of the fibers enhanced with increasing EEP concentration in the fiber mats. FTIR spectrums and thermal properties of electrospun fibers exhibited the simple mixtures of PA-6 and EEP in blend fibers which did not contain very complex interactions.