Preparation, characterization, and antibacterial properties of PVA/gelatin/ sodium alginate/ silver nanofibers

Nanofibrous scaffolds based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), gelatin (GE), and sodium alginate (SA) were fabricated by electrospinning and loaded with silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs, 0.4 wt%) to develop antibacterial biomaterials. The optimal scaffold composition consisted of PVA/SA at a volume ratio of 70:30 and was crosslinked with citric acid (5 wt% of the total polymer content). The physicochemical properties of the fabricated scaffolds were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. FTIR analysis confirmed intermolecular interactions among the polymer components and successful incorporation of Ag-NPs within the crosslinked polymer network. SEM observations demonstrated the formation of continuous nanofibrous structures, with the optimized PVA/SA/Ag-NP scaffold exhibiting an average fiber diameter of 266 ± 44 nm. EDX mapping verified the presence and homogeneous distribution of Ag-NPs throughout the nanofibrous matrix without noticeable aggregation. The incorporation of hydrophilic polymers resulted in favorable surface wettability, with the optimized scaffold exhibiting a water contact angle of 37.8°. Antibacterial activity evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli demonstrated inhibition zone diameters of 3.4 mm. Scaffolds without Ag-NPs showed no detectable antibacterial activity, whereas Ag-NP-loaded scaffolds effectively inhibited bacterial growth. These results demonstrate that Ag-NP-loaded PVA/GE/SA nanofibrous scaffolds possess favorable physicochemical characteristics, surface wettability, and antibacterial activity, suggesting their potential as antibacterial biomaterials for future tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. However, further investigations involving mechanical characterization, biological evaluation, and silver-release studies are required to fully establish their biomedical applicability.