Fabrication of Forcespinning® nanofibers incorporating nopal extract
Cristóbal Rodríguez, Victoria Padilla, Karen Lozano, Andrew McDonald, L. A. Materon, Alejandra Chapa, Fariha Ahmad, Carlos Trevino De Leo, Robert Gilkerson
Abstract
Abstract In this study, nanofibers composed of Opuntia cochenillifera nopal mucilage (N) extract combined with chitosan (CH) and pullulan (PL) (N/CH/PL) were produced via Forcespinning®. The developed nonwoven composite membranes are composed of long, continuous and homogeneous fibers with average fiber diameter varying between 251 ± 77 nm and 406 ± 127 nm depending on the concentration of N. After crosslinking, the developed membranes were highly stable in water. The water absorption capacity of the N/CH/PL composite nanofiber membranes was shown to be 65% higher compared to CH/PL nanofiber membranes. Nopal dip‐coated membranes show inhibition of Gram‐negative Escherichia coli , indicating antibacterial properties. These findings suggest that the incorporation of naturally derived nopal extract into nanofiber systems could provide a natural alternative for dressings used in wound healing applications. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry