Biocompatibility and Antimicrobial Profile of Acid Usnic-Loaded Electrospun Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)-Magnetite Nanofibers

Alexandra Elena Stoica Oprea; Alexandra Catalina Bîrcă; Dan Eduard Mihaiescu; Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu; Anton Ficai; Hildegard Herman; Baltă Cornel; Marcel Roșu; Sami Gharbia; Alina Maria Holban; Bogdan Ștefan Vasile; Ecaterina Andronescu; Anca Oana Hermenean

doi:10.3390/polym15153282

Biocompatibility and Antimicrobial Profile of Acid Usnic-Loaded Electrospun Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)-Magnetite Nanofibers

Polymers (Basel). 2023 Aug 2;15(15):3282. doi: 10.3390/polym15153282.

Authors

Alexandra Elena Stoica Oprea¹, Alexandra Catalina Bîrcă¹, Dan Eduard Mihaiescu², Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu^{1

3

4}, Anton Ficai^{1

4}, Hildegard Herman⁵, Baltă Cornel⁵, Marcel Roșu⁵, Sami Gharbia⁵, Alina Maria Holban⁶, Bogdan Ștefan Vasile^{7

8}, Ecaterina Andronescu^{1

3}, Anca Oana Hermenean⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania.
² Department of Organic Chemistry, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
³ ICUB-Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, 060102 Bucharest, Romania.
⁴ Academy of Romanian Scientists, Ilfov No. 3, 050044 Bucharest, Romania.
⁵ Institute of Life Sciences, Vasile Goldis Western University of Arad, 310414 Arad, Romania.
⁶ Microbiology Immunology Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 030018 Bucharest, Romania.
⁷ National Research Center for Micro and Nanomaterials, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania.
⁸ Research Center for Advanced Materials, Products and Processes, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

The highest amount of the world's polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is designated for fiber production (more than 60%) and food packaging (30%) and it is one of the major polluting polymers. Although there is a great interest in recycling PET-based materials, a large amount of unrecycled material is derived mostly from the food and textile industries. The aim of this study was to obtain and characterize nanostructured membranes with fibrillar consistency based on recycled PET and nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@UA) using the electrospinning technique. The obtained fibers limit microbial colonization and the development of biofilms. Such fibers could significantly impact modern food packaging and the design of improved textile fibers with antimicrobial effects and good biocompatibility. In conclusion, this study suggests an alternative for PET recycling and further applies it in the development of antimicrobial biomaterials.

Keywords: antimicrobial agents; biocompatibility; electrospinning; in vitro; in vivo; magnetite; nanofibers; recycled PET; usnic acid.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the grant POCU/993/6/13-153178, co-financed by the European Social Fund within the Sectorial Operational Program Human Capital 2014–2020 and Romanian Governmental through the National Programme “Installations and Strategic Objectives of National Interest”. The FT-ICR-MS analyses were possible due to European Regional Development Fund through Competitiveness Operational Program 2014–2020, Priority Axis 1, Project No. P_36_611, MySMIS code 107066, INOVABIOMED.