TEKSTIL VE KONFEKSIYON, cilt.33, sa.1, ss.1-8, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
This study aims to characterize and evaluate polyethylene oxide (PEO) and chitosan (CS) nanofibers
produced by electrospinning method. Electrospinning solutions were used at three different
concentrations (1, 2, 3 wt%) with five different PEO/CS mixing ratios (30/70, 40/60, 50/50, 60/40,
100/0). FESEM, XRD and FTIR tests were applied for characterization of the nanofibers.
Antibacterial activity of the nanofibers against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae
microorganisms was investigated using disk diffusion method. While 1 wt% of concentration was not
suitable to obtain regular nanofibers, the nanofibers were uniform and largely free of beads at the
other ones (2, 3 wt%). The average diameters of the nanofibers varied from 59 to 298 nm depending
on the concentration and mixing ratio. Strong hydrogen bonds were formed between two polymers,
while the crystal structure of PEO did not change significantly when mixed with chitosan. According
to the study, whereas chitosan is resistant to a wide range of germs, PEO/CS nanofibers were not. The
reason for this is because when chitosan is electrospun with PEO, the characteristics of the chitosan
are altered by the concentrations and ratios used.