(781a) Electrospun Antimicrobial Mats

Nano- to micro fibrous mats with antimicrobial
properties have been produced using general
electrospinning techniques.  Mats were
created by solubilizing conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) with a variety of different
terminal moieties and chain lengths in a carrier polymer, polycaprolactone
(PCL). Incorporation of the CPEs did not affect resulting fiber morphology as
determined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).  Confirmation of CPEs within the fibers was
performed via optical and fluorescent imaging.  CPEs were found to be uniformly distributed
along the surface of the polymer fibers which enabled loadings as low as 1% wt
CPE to exhibit excellent biocidal efficacy.   Antimicrobial activity was tested by exposing
the mats to bacterial suspensions both in solution and aerosolized of both Gram
positive (S. aureus)
and Gram negative (E. coli) followed
by analysis with flow cytometry as well as fluorescent and confocal microscopy.  The inherent high surface area to volume
ratio of the electrospun mats allows for efficient
dispersion of the antimicrobial and in turn very effective bacterial
killing.  The resulting combination of
CPE and carrier polymers to prepare non-woven mats can be used in a number of fields
of interest including but not limited to antimicrobial filter, wound healing, and
textile applications.