Impact of crystallite size on surface roughness, antibacterial efficacy and hemocompatible properties of polycaprolactone incorporated <i>Moringa oleifera</i> extract and silver nanoparticles electrospun nanofibrous membrane

Abstract X-ray diffraction (XRD) is widely used to study the crystalline structure of electrospun scaffolds/membranes for tissue healing. In this study, an extension of XRD data profile was used in a new context, to identify the changes in nano-microstructure properties of polycaprolactone (PCL) incorporated Moringa oleifera ( M. oleifera ) extract and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) electrospun nanofibrous membranes, known as PMA membranes. The XRD data testified that the PMA membranes consisted of two crystalline structures of orthorhombic and cubic which associated to the PCL and AgNPs, respectively. The crystallite sizes were then calculated using Scherrer equation and William–Hall (W-H) plot methods. The impact of crystallite size was correlated to the changes of surface roughness, antibacterial efficacy and hemocompatibility of the electrospun membranes. Increasing the M. oleifera concentrations induced greater crystallite sizes (PMA-3) of 39.45 ± 26.44 nm and 19.80 nm, derived from the Scherrer equation and the W-H plot method, respectively. A direct relationship was found between the crystallite size and the surface roughness. Besides, the increment of crystallite size limited the antibacterial activity and induced the hemolysis. The XRD data profile from this study has provided a new insight to evaluate the electrospun nanofibrous membranes in different perspective for potential tissue healing applications.