Antibacterial electrospun membrane prepared from poly (vinylidene fluoride)-co-hexafluoropropylene with lauric acid monoacylglycerol

Abstract

The aim of this study was to prepare an antibacterial nanofibrous membrane using electrospinning technique. The nanofibrous membranes were spun from polymer solution of poly(vinylidne fluoride)-cohexafluoropropylene (PVDF-co-HFP) dissolved in N,N'-dimethylformamide. Monoacylglycerol of lauric acid (MAG C12) was used as an antimicrobial agent at the concentrations ranging from 1 to 3 wt%. The impact of MAG C12 incorporation on the rheological, structural and antibacterial properties was investigated. The rheological tests of polymer solutions, as steady shear and oscillatory shear, proved that addition of MAG C12 changed marginally rheological quantities such as viscosity, elastic (storage) and viscous (loss) moduli. Measurement of mean nanofibres diameter indicated a slight decrease with increasing MAG C12 concentration. Antimicrobial activity of PVDF-co-HFP nanofibre membranes with incorporated MAG C12 against Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli was studied. An antibacterial activity was revealed for the samples containing MAG C12 at all concentrations against Grampositive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus by the disk diffusion method. © 2021 TANGER Ltd., Ostrava.