Electrospun nanofibers of chitosan/nanocrystalline cellulose/polylactic acid with improved morphology and distribution

Abstract Nanofibers are known as fibers having small diameters scaled in the nanometer size with superior advantages open the horizon for them to be used in different applications. In this research Chitosan/Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC)/Polylactic acid (PLA) hybrid nanofibers were fabricated using the needle electrospinning method. The preparation of Chitosan/NCC/PLA blended nanofibers was tried by the use of 100% deacetylated chitosan with 30 kDa, 15 kDa, and 7.5 kDa average molecular weights. The surface morphology of the prepared nanofibers was observed using the scanning electron microscope, and the fiber size distribution was measured using the Image J software. The use chitosan low molecular weight improved its spin ability, since higher concentration with lower viscosity solutions able to be prepared. The major problem of chitosan spin ability is due to its high molecular weight and then the difficulty of preparing solutions with high concentrations and viscosities low enough to be suitable for electrospinning. Results revealed that chitosan 7.5 kDa and 15 kDa were more spin able compared with Cs 30 kDa. Better quality nanofibers were obtained once chitosan with 7.5 kDa was used. It is observed from the results that the presence of NCC in chitosan/PLA nanofibers yields the formation of better quality nanofibers with improved morphology and distribution, and an average diameter size of 118.34 ± 20.29 nm. The good morphological structure obtained for chitosan/NCC/PLA nanofibers opens the horizons for them to be used in a lot of applications such as drug delivery and tissue engineering.