Assessing morphological effect on antimicrobial activity using needleless electrospinning

Biopolymeric nanofibers thrive in biomedical applications owing to exceptional properties. The new high-throughput needleless electrospinning (NES) technology eliminates needle blockage issue. Gelatin (GL) and polylactic acid (PLA) have previously been used in the biomedical area. However, for drug delivery applications the system lacks specific therapeutic carriers. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is a biopolymer with unique characteristics and has the potential to serve as specialized carrier. Wound healing is complicated and time-consuming. However, antibiotic resistance has made it more complex; therefore, scientists are using medicinal herbs. Fenugreek extract (FE) has proven antibacterial activities. Current study creates green biopolymeric nanofibers utilizing GL/PLA/NCC (0.2, 0.6, 1/10/0.1 w/v%) loaded with FE (5, 7.5, 10 w/v%). Nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, contact angle, and thermogravimetric analysis. Porosity, swelling ratio, and weight loss percentage evaluated performance. Finally, biofilm with the same composition and pure FE was compared to the nanofibers’ antibacterial activity. Nanofibers with 0.6 w/v GL performed best and nanofibrous showed a higher antibacterial percentage than biofilm and pure extract. The research shows that shape affects antibacterial activity irrespective of the composition. The developed nanofibers have potential application in developing wound healing patches.