Combining Electrospinning\nand Photoinduced Reactions\nto Fabricate Cytocompatible and Antibacterial Ag Nanoparticle-Decorated\nPolymeric Membranes

Composite nanofibrous membranes hold significant potential\nfor\nthe development of innovative biomedical materials and applications\nas their properties can be tuned by combining the synergistic effects\nof the nanofiller and the polymer matrix. Moreover, the nanofibrous\nstructure can further enhance this feature thanks to the extremely\nhigh functional surface area. In the present work, a simple and fast\nmethod for the preparation of electrospun composite membranes based\non cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) nanofibers and silver nanoparticles\n(Ag NPs) is proposed. For this purpose, a precursor of the Ag NPs\n(i.e., AgNO<sub>3</sub>) is introduced into the aqueous solution of\nPEO in the presence of a suitable photoinitiator and a photo-cross-linker.\nElectrospinning of the solution is carried out, and the subsequent\nirradiation of the electrospun mat allows the simultaneous photoinduced\ncross-linking of PEO and the photoinduced synthesis of Ag NPs. The <i>in situ</i> generation of Ag NPs is confirmed through different\ncharacterization techniques (i.e., UV–vis spectroscopy, dynamic\nlight scattering, and scanning electron microscopy). The structural,\nmorphological, and mechanical properties of the resulting electrospun\ncomposite nanofibers are analyzed, and the effect of the content of\nthe Ag NP precursor is evaluated. It is demonstrated that PEO fibers\nare chemically resistant and mechanically robust thanks to cross-linking,\nwhile Ag NPs induce significant antibacterial activity to the electrospun\nmaterials, which are also shown to be noncytotoxic by using both human\nfibroblasts and 3D-reconstructed skin equivalents. The proposed PEO-based\nnanofibrous mats decorated with Ag NPs thus exhibit promising potential\nas biomedical materials, especially for wound healing applications.