Incorporation of Fluorescent Dyes in Electrospun Chitosan/Poly(ethylene oxide)

Cristiane Guellis,Ariane Rossin,Cleber Lindino,Guilherme Bessegato,Douglas Dragunski,Reinaldo Bariccatti

doi:10.21577/0103-5053.20210006

Abstract

Polymeric films have been increasingly investigated due to the ease of miniaturization and integration in several sensor devices. Films obtained from the electrospinning technique have a controlled diameter and homogeneity, and substances can be incorporated into the polymeric network. Electrospinning fiber of chitosan (Ch) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was obtained from solutions prepared at different concentrations in acetic acid, and varying the distance and the voltage applied. The obtained films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Visible specular reflectance spectra (UV-SRS). The best conditions for electrospinning were obtained for a 2% m/v (Ch + PEO) solution in the ratio 90:10% m/m (Ch:PEO), applied voltage of 18 kV, and 18 cm distance between the capillary tube and collector. Acridine orange, sodium fluorescein, and erythrosine fluorescence dyes were successfully incorporated into Ch:PEO films. The spectrofluorometric spectra of the films showed excitation and emission processes and the acridine orange film showed evidence of excimer formation by the presence of an excitation peak at 569 nm. Ch-PEO films with the incorporation of fluorescent dyes may well be used as flexible probes or sensors in colorimetric devices in biochemical applications.

Highlights

Electrospinning is a relatively simple and versatile method for producing micro or nanoscale diameter fibers with high surface area and high porosity films.[1]
The thermal stability of the films obtained by electrospinning and chitosan and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) pure powders was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) on PerkinElmer model STA 6000 (Waltham, Massachusetts, USA), in the temperature range from 30 to 900 °C with 10 °C min−1 heating flow and 50 mL min−1 nitrogen gas (99.999%, White Martins, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil)
There is no formation of pure chitosan fibers at 2 and 4% m/v in the electrospinning process, but only of droplets deposited in the collector, even after changes in the experimental conditions

Summary

Introduction

Electrospinning is a relatively simple and versatile method for producing micro or nanoscale diameter fibers with high surface area and high porosity films.[1]. We present the investigation of the production of Ch-PEO fibers by electrospinning with the incorporation of acridine orange (AO), erythrosine (E) and sodium fluorescein (F).

Results

Conclusion