Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) (Core)-Polyurethane (Shell) Nanofibers Produced by Coaxial Electrospinning

Nanoweb fabricated by electrospinninghas a large specific area and a small pore size which can be controlled through a spinning process to enable a strong adsorption and selective permeability. It is required to produce nanofiberof different polymer mixture with a limited miscibility for improvement of physical, chemical, or biological properties. In this study, poly ( vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/polyurethane (PU) nanofiberswere produced by coaxial electrospinning. PVA (core)/PU (shell) nanofiberswere defect-free and had a uniform thickness. The pseudo core/shell structure of PVA/PU nanofiberswas confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The presence of PVA and PU in the nanofiberswas identified by 13C solid state nuclear magnetic resonancespectroscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Water contactangle was reduced by incorporation of PVA in a core of PU nanofiber. For variety of biomedical applications, bioactive substancessuch as antibiotics and proteins can be incorporated in a core of hydrophobic PU nanofiberby coaxial electrospinningof water-soluble polymer/ bioactive substancemixture.