Silver nanoparticles immobilized onto polycaprolactone (PCL)/poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl metacrilate) nanofiber meshes

The present work comprises the fabrication of nanofiber meshes of polycaprolactone (PCL)/poly [(2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) and the subsequent immobilization of silver nanoparticles, in order to obtain materials with potential application in tissue engineering. The nanofibers composed of different ratios of PDMAEMA / PCL (m/m) were obtained by electrospinning. These nanofiber meshes were then immersed in colloidal suspensions containing the AgNPs under different pH values to immobilize the nanoparticles onto the fiber's surface. A greater amount of AgNPs was deposited when the fibers were immersed in a solution of pH 5, as one can observe from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and the X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) spectra. It was observed that the meshes of the blends suffered morphological changes after immersion in acid solution (pH 5), and, the deposition of AgNPs onto the meshes in general was more effective in acid environment (pH 5). (author)