Effective preparation of environmentally friendly polyglycolic acid (PGA) nanofibrous membrane with antibacterial property for high-efficiency and low-resistance air filtration

[Display omitted] •The polyglycolic acid loaded with antibacterial ε-polylysine-dialdehyde microcrystalline celluloses nanofiber membranes have high filtration efficiency and low pressure drop for aerosol particles with a diameter of 260 nm in mass.•When adding dialdehyde microcrystalline cellulose crosslinked with ε-polylysine prepared at a molar ratio of 0.24:1 of ε-Poly-L-lysine to aldehyde group, the polyglycolic acid composite membrane is endowed with excellent antibacterial rates against E.coli and S.aureus.•The polyglycolic acid loaded with antibacterial ε-polylysine-dialdehyde microcrystalline celluloses nanofiber membranes are environmentally friendly and can be naturally degraded in soil after use. In recent years, the antibacterial air filters have been crucial for protecting human health. However, most commercial filters are made of non-biodegradable petroleum polymers, which poses a great challenge for environment protection of recycling after large-scale use. Hence, the air filtration membrane, biodegradable polyglycolic acid loaded with antibacterial ε-polylysine-dialdehyde microcrystalline celluloses (PGA@EPL-DAMCs), was prepared by electrospinning. The incorporation of EPL-DAMCs varied the morphology of the resultant PGA@EPL-DAMCs and endowed them with good antibacterial activity. In addition, it was found that the PGA/EPL-DAMC-24% exhibited the best filtration efficiency (99.83%) and bacterial rate (up to 99.97% and 99.99% for E.coli and S.aureus, respectively). Finally, the degradation performance of the PGA electrospun membrane was also investigated, indicating that PGA@EPL-DAMCs composite nanofiber membranes had broad prospects in biodegradable filtration material, can be applied to develop biodegradable and environmentally friendly medical protective materials with highly efficient air filtration and significant antimicrobial effects.