Surface modification of nylon-6 electrospun fiber mat with silver nanoparticles using layer-by-layer method

Abstract

The goal of this research was to modified the surface and embed silver nanoparticles on the surface of nylon-6 electrospun fibers via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to improve the antibacterial properties of fiber mats. Effect of polyelectrolyte concentration and deposition time of polycationic poly(diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) and polyanionic poly(styrene sulfonic acid) on the surface treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and untreated surface were investigated. Due to negative charge induction on fiber surface by NaOH, the NaOH treatment reduced minimum polyelectrolyte concentration and deposition time required for building up uniform LbL layers on fiber mats from 5 to 1 mM and 40 to 10 mins, respectively. Diameter of NaOH treated fiber modified with 1 to 15 LbL bilayers increased from 166 to 410 nm, while that of pristine fibers modified with bilayers remained relatively constant. Selected LbL modified nanofiber mats were embedded with Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs), capped with poly (4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid). AgNPs LbL-modified fiber mats exhibited anti-microbial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (AATCC100 standard testing method) with percent reduction in the range of 31.71 to 99.99 percent.