Fabrication of starch/PVA/CuO electrospun nanoscaffolds for enhanced antimicrobial activity

The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and the limitations of conventional wound dressings necessitate the development of sustainable and effective antimicrobial biomaterials. In this study, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were green synthesized using Turbinaria conoides extract and subsequently incorporated into starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds to enhance antimicrobial performance. The biosynthesized CuO NPs exhibited a characteristic surface plasmon resonance peak at 270–300 nm and a mean particle size of 68 nm with a zeta potential of −11.4 mV, indicating moderate colloidal stability. Structural and chemical analyses (FTIR and XRD) confirmed the formation of monoclinic CuO and phytochemical-mediated stabilization, while SEM revealed uniform nanoparticle distribution within nanofibers of 90–110 nm diameter. The CuO-loaded nanoscaffolds demonstrated significantly enhanced antimicrobial activity, with inhibition zones of 30 ± 0.2 mm ( Escherichia coli ), 27 ± 0.2 mm ( Klebsiella pneumoniae ), and 25 ± 0.3 mm ( Staphylococcus aureus ), outperforming both algal extract and CuO NPs alone. The improved efficacy is attributed to synergistic effects of nanoparticle incorporation and sustained release from the nanofibrous matrix. This study presents a novel integration of T. conoides -mediated CuO nanoparticles into biodegradable starch/PVA electrospun scaffolds, offering a sustainable and effective platform for antimicrobial wound dressing applications.