Preparation and characterization of Chitosan-based fibers using electrospining technique

Abstract

Chitosan, a (1-4)-linked 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose is derived from chitin, one of the most abundant natural polysaccharides. Chitosan is well known for its nontoxicity, solubility in most acids, biocompatibilty and biodegradable properties. In addition, it has several unique properties: it is antimicrobial, inhibits the growth of a wide variety of fungi, yeasts, and bacteria, which can be beneficial for use in the field of biomedicine, textile, and paper production. It can also bind toxic metal ions, which can be beneficial for use in air cleaning and water purification applications. The protonation of the amino groups on the chitosan backbone inhibits the electrospinnability of pure chitosan. Recently, electrospinning of nanofibers based on chitosan has been widely researched and numerous nanofibers containing chitosan have been prepared by decreasing the number of the free amino groups of chitosan as the nanofibers have enormous possibilities for better utilization in various areas. In this study, 2-10% chitosan, in aqueous 50% acetic acid solution has been successfully electrospun. The effect of processing parameters and the concentration of the polymer solution on the morphology and diameter of electrospun were investigated. The morphology and diameter of electrospun fibers were observed by scanning electron microscope. The diameters of chitosan nanofibers ranged from 90 to 250 nm. The results showed that the fiber diameter increased when the solution concentration and flow rate were increased, whereas the fiber diameter decreased when the applied voltage and distance between tip to collector were increased. The optimum conditions were 2 % wt of chitosan concentration, 25 kV applied voltage, 0.2 mL/ hr solution flow rate, and 10 cm collector distance.