Evaluation of antibacterial properties of polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan/potassium permanganate electrospun nanofibers

This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial properties of polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan/potassium permanganate composite nanofibers in different concentrations against gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For this purpose, the nanofibers above were first made using the electrospun method. Then, the antibacterial effects of the nanofibers were evaluated by antibiogram test. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the diameter of polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan nanofibers ranges from 186.52 to 96.55 nm and has a length of several micrometers. The images of SEM analysis also showed that nanofibers have a smooth surface without any beads. Moreover, the results of X-map analysis have shown that the addition of potassium permanganate slightly decreases the uniform distribution of elements along the length of the nanofibers. Energy-disperse X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy revealed that carbon is the most abundant element in the nanofibers. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis revealed the occurrence of new bonds of elements after the addition of potassium permanganate. The antibacterial test exhibited the most antibacterial properties of nanofibers containing 1 ml of potassium permanganate with a concentration of 1% against both E. coli and P. aeruginosa. It is worth mentioning that the antibacterial property of nanofibers against Escherichia coli was higher than P. aeruginosa. So, using the above-mentioned nanofibers could be a promising antibacterial strategy against infectious bacteria in wounds.