EFFECT OF CATIONIC SURFACTANT AND ACIDITY ON CHITOSAN NANOFIBERS

Chitosan is the N-deacetylated of chitin (at least 60% deacetylated) which is the second most abundant organic material found in nature next to cellulose. It is environmentally friendly, non toxic, biodegradable, and antibacterial. Cs nanofiber have broad application in wound healing, tissue repair, drug delivery, antimicrobial resistance and cell adhesion. Although the fibrous mats has high physicochemical properties, electrospinning of the polymer is so challenging. In the current study the influence of cationic surfactant on the production of electrospun nanofiber were investigated by adding the cationic polyhexa methylene biguanaide (PHMB) below, at and above their specific critical micellar concentration to the polymer blend solution. Viscosity of the polymer solution and morphology of the nanofiber containing surfactant were determined. Pure chitosan can not form fiber and instead form deposited as bead. Addition of PEO and surfactant induced spinnability. Compositional analysis revealed that nanofibers consisted of both polymers and surfactants with concentration of the constituents in nanofibers differing from that in polymer solutions.

Keywords:

Chitosan , Surfactant , Nanofiber , Electrospinning , Biomedical