Investigation of physical, mechanical and biological properties of PLA/PCL/Nettle extracts (Urtica Dioica L.) nanofibers

Nanotechnology is emerging as an important technology, which has found many applications in various fields. Application of nanomaterial in biomedical engineering has grown dramatically. Electrospinning was performed using a solution containing PCL 10% (w/v)%, PLA 8% (w/v)%, 15% and 20% (v/v)% Nettle extract added to the polymer solution and stirred for 1 hour. The conditions of electrospinning including flow rate of 0.8 ml/h, distance from the needle tip to collector 15 cm and voltages used for PLA and PCL solutions were 20 kV and 15 kV, respectively. The morphology of nanofibers observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that average diameter of nanofibers without of herbal extract was 497± 30 nm and with Nettle extract 15% and 20% were 575 ± 35 nm and 680± 67 nm, respectively. Contact angle PLA/PCL/Nettle nanofibers were reduced to 70.01º. Functional of group nanofibers were studied by FTIR. Addition of the Nettle extract to decreases the mechanical properties of the nanofibers produced. With increasing Nettle extract content in PLA/PCL the mechanical strength reduces further. The antibacterial properties of nanofibers were examined against a gram-positive and a gram-negative bacteria. PLA/PCL/Nettle Nanofibers showed good antibacterial properties. Finally, cell culture and MTT test nanofibers were investigated The results show proper cell culture on the nanofibrous mats with proper cell viability

Keywords:

Nanotechnology , Electrospinning , PLA , PCL , Nettle extract