Controlled release of curcumin from electrospun fiber mats with antibacterial activity

Nanofibers of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) loaded with different concentration of curcumin was fabricated through electrospinning process. The nanofiber mats were crosslinked through heat treatment at different temperatures and UV exposure for different times with the aim to stabilize and control the release of curcumin from the mat. The average fiber diameter of PVA nanofibers was larger than PVA nanofibers with curcumin. The diameter of nanofibers decreased with the increase of curcumin content. While heat treatment increased the fiber diameters, no significant change in diameter was observed after UV exposure of the nanofiber mats. XRD analysis revealed that crystallinity of crosslinked samples increased gradually with the increase of heat treatment temperature and UV exposure time. The crosslinking methods showed no deterioration in mechanical properties of the nanofiber mats. The release of curcumin was controlled up to maximum 20% through heat treatment and maximum 9% through UV exposure compared to the non-crosslinked samples. The swelling ratio of all the crosslinked samples was observed over 300%. All the PVA/curcumin crosslinked samples showed antibacterial efficacy against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Thus, this study fabricates a stable antibacterial nanofibrous mat with controlled curcumin release capability through a facile way.