Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Polymer Nanofibers Containing Chicory Extract by Electrospun Method and Evaluation of Its Antibacterial Properties

The primary objective of the current research is to produce polymeric nanofibers of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol containing chicory plant extract and then evaluate their antibacterial effects. As remarked by numerous published articles, the chicory plant proved to be able to modulate the activity and growth of bacteria. For this reason, chicory plant extract was added to the fiber precursor in the amounts of 1, 2, and 3 %. Finally, the morphology and antibacterial properties of the resultant nanofibers were investigated. The results from Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) confirmed the formation of uniform fibers whose diameters decreased from 144 nm to 95 nm with an increase in the amount of the extract in the sample. In addition, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-map analyses confirmed the presence of elements of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, potassium, sodium, and copper in the precursor of the fibers containing the extract and their uniform distribution. In this study, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) helped identify the functional groups and chemical bonds in the synthesized nanofibers. According to the Ultraviolet-Visible thermometry (UV-VIS) results, one emission in the ultraviolet region with the wavelength of 263 nm and two emissions in the ultraviolet and visible regions with the wavelengths of 263 nm and 372 nm were observed in the absorption spectrum of nanofibers without and with the extract, respectively. examination of the antibacterial properties in the present study confirmed that upon increasing the amount of the extract in the sample, the antibacterial effect of the electrospun nanofibers would be intensified in exposure to both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.