title: Antibacterial activity of combination of synthetic and biopolymer non-woven structures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fibrous structures and synthetic polymer blends offer potential usages in making biomedical devices, textiles used in medical practices, food packaging, tissue engineering, environmental applications and biomedical arena. These products are also excellent candidates for building scaffolds to grow stem cells for implantation, to make tissue engineering grafts, to make stents to open up blood vessels caused by atherosclerosis or narrowed by blood clots, for drug delivery systems for micro- to nano-medicines, for transdermal patches, and for healing of wounds and burn care. The current study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of woven and non-woven forms of nano- and macro-scale blended polymers having biocompatible and biodegradable characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  The antimicrobial activity of non-woven fibrous structures created with the combination of synthetic and biopolymer was assessed using Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes using pour plate method. Structural evaluation of the fabricated samples was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Broad spectrum antibacterial activities were found from the tested materials consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with chitosan and nylon-6 combined with chitosan and formic acid.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of PVA with chitosan was more bactericidal or bacteriostatic than that of nylon-6 combined with chitosan and formic acid. PVA combination with chitosan appears to be a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent.
authors.forename: Sukhwinder K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Bhullar
authors.forename: Burcak Kaya
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Özsel
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.forename: Ginpreet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Meena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chintamaneni
authors.forename: Harpal S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Buttar
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D063566:Biodegradable Plastics; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002209:Caprolactam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D048271:Chitosan; D005561:Formates; D008422:Materials Testing; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D063566:Biodegradable Plastics; D001704:Biopolymers; D005561:Formates; D011108:Polymers; C030544:formic acid; C009916:nylon 6; D002209:Caprolactam; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D048271:Chitosan