Synthesis of Chitosan/Hydroxyapatite Nanofibers as A Wound Dressing via Electrospinning Method

Abstract

Nanotechnology had been widely developed for medical application in various forms, either nanoparticles or nanofibers. One of the most attractive use is nanofibers as a wound dressing. An ideal wound dressing should have characteristics of easily sterilized, non-toxic, biodegradable, good oxygen circulation, and anti-microbial performance. Those characteristics could be obtained by using a biomaterial composite which had a good biocompatibility on human body tissues, such as chitosan and hydroxyapatite (HA). Chitosan had an anti-microbial property, while HA could increase the cell generation rate. Therefore, this work would synthesize a chitosan/HA nanofiber as a potential wound dressing via electrospinning method. HA was firstly prepared by electrolysis using alternating electrode configuration. The dope solution of chitosan/HA for electrospinning was prepared by adding polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a coadjutant polymer. The morphology of the obtained nanofibers was investigated by SEM. It was revealed that the nanofibers had an average diameter of 261.87 nm which was spun each other forming many pores which was good for oxygen circulation. Therefore, chitosan/HA nanofibers could be a promising material for wound dressing application.