Characterization of solution blown thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers modified with Szygium aromaticum extract

Abstract

Antibacterial wound dressing mats were produced via coating solution blown TPU nanofiber mats with Szygium aromaticum extract (clove oil). Soxhlet extraction was used to obtain clove oil (CO) and according to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, it was shown that extract was mostly composed of eugenol and beta-caryophylene, which exhibit superior antimicrobial activity. TPU nanofiber mats were coated with obtained clove oil in order to obtain antibacterial nanofibers. Even 2 mg/cm(2) clove oil coated TPU nanofibers (E2/TPU) exhibited a zone of inhibition around 24 and 22 mm against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively. On the other hand, air permeability of nanofibrous mats decreased with the increasing amount of clove oil over 5 mg/cm(2), because clove oil caused changes in nanofiber morphology. However, the presence of clove oil did not affect the morphology of E2/TPU, where air permeability values of those dressings were close to that of neat TPU nanofiber mats.