Green and facile fabrication of high-performance antibacterial nanofiber materials with low cytotoxicity using eggshell membrane hydrolysate

• First-ever green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using eggshell membrane hydrolysate derived from food waste. • Silver nanoparticles stabilized by eggshell membrane hydrolysate are uniformly dispersed within nanofibers. • The nanofiber membranes incorporating silver nanoparticles exhibit controlled silver release behavior. • The membranes show good antibacterial activity, low cytotoxicity, and potential for food packaging use. Developing high-performance antibacterial materials through eco-friendly and efficient strategies is vital for combating infections and promoting global sustainability. Here, waste-derived eggshell membrane hydrolysate (EMH) was used to reduce and stabilize silver nanoparticles with reduced size (E 0.1 -Ag NPs ∼6.2 nm), which were successfully encapsulated into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun nanofibers, achieving uniform dispersion, excellent antibacterial activity, and desirable biocompatibility. Benefiting from the homogeneous distribution of E 0.1 -Ag NPs and subsequent crosslinking, the PVA-E 0.1 Ac membrane exhibited remarkable structural integrity and a controlled silver release profile, with an initial release nearly reaching the maximum cumulative amount (11.33 %) within 5 h, followed by sustained stability over 15 days. It also demonstrated pH-responsive silver release and repeatable release stability, maintaining stable silver concentrations even after 5 cycles of buffer solution replacement. Furthermore, the controlled and sustained silver release of E 0.1 -Ag NPs in the PVA-E 0.1 Ac membrane ensured remarkable antibacterial activity against E. coli (1.48 × 10 7 CFU) and S. aureus (1.67 × 10 7 CFU), effective disruption of biofilms and low cytotoxicity. In addition, the PVA-E 0.1 Ac membrane exhibited good packaging ability, preserving strawberries for up to 10 days. Therefore, this work offers a sustainable and cost-effective strategy for high-performance antimicrobial materials, with potential applications in food packaging.