Fabrication and Characterization of PVA/Chitosan Composite Nanofiber for Encapsulation of Active Ingredients

Author: M.S. Kumuthan, A. Lakshmanan*, K.G. Sabarinathan, K.S. Subramanian, K. Raja, D. Balachandar and M. Gomathi

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Abstract

Electrospinning is a versatile technique used to produce nanofibers from polymer solution to encapsulate the active ingredients. It is hard to fabricate chitosan nanofiber, because high viscosity of chitosan solution hinders the fabrication process. To overcome this difficulty, poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) was blended with chitosan (CS) to lower the solution viscosity and produce composite nanofiber by electrospinning method. Different concentrations of PVA and CS were tested for optimum nanofiber formation. Fabricated nanofiber was characterized by using FTIR, Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX). The results confirmed that the fine nanofiber formation was perfect without beads from PVA/CS composite at a ratio of 9:1. FTIR analysis of nanofiber confirmed the presence of characteristics peaks of PVA and CS at 2934 cm-1 (C-H stretching) and 1550 cm-1 (N-H bending). SEM and TEM observation showed the smooth sur

Keywords

Electrospinning, PVA, Chitosan, nanofiber, encapsulation.