Antibacterial activity of chitosan-polyethylene oxide nanofibers containing silver nanoparticles against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria

•The chemical reduction of chitosan and glucose as stabilizers led to the production of silver nanoparticles (SNPs).•A 30-minute sonication of the chitosan-silver nitrate solution was used to produce optimal silver nanoparticles.•This study assessed SNP/CS-PEO nanofibers for promising application in mixed anaerobic-aerobic infections.•SNP/CS-PEO nanofibers indicated favorable results in terms of mechanical and physicochemical characteristics.•MTT assay was performed to evaluate the biocompatibility of CS-PEO/SNP nanofibers against HDF and L929 cell lines. Bacterial wound infection is one of the foremost prevalent nosocomial infections. The overuse of antibiotics leads to the growing proliferation of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, a specialty challenging to establish in anaerobic infections and even more so in mixed anaerobic-aerobic disorders. Consequently, alternate munitions are urgently needed to expedite wound healing and bactericidal impacts. Considering this, we determined the properties of antibacterial nanofibers (NFs) generated from electrospun chitosan/polyethylene oxide nanofibers (CS-PEO NFs) integrated with 1% (w/w) silver nanoparticles (SNPs). SNPs were efficiently produced via chemical reduction synthesis and confirmed by color changing to light brown during sonication. SNPs had no discernible influence on the morphology of CS-PEO NFs. Surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) investigated SNPs' size. This technique analyzed that increasing the sonication time to 30 min results in SNP formation with the proper size (4 nm). Following these procedures, the nanofibers' characteristics were assessed using physical and mechanical parameters, viscosity, Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs demonstrated that SNPs produced in chitosan had adequate dispersion. Moreover, in vitro SNP release and encapsulation efficiency were measured, showing a rapid release of up to 36% in the first two hours, and also the effect of CS-PEO NFs and CS-PEO/SNP NFs on the survival of human dermal fibroblast (HDF) and a normal fibroblast cell line (L929) were investigated by MTT colorimetric assay demonstrated the biocompatibility of cells with CS-PEO/SNP NFs. The nanofibers' antibacterial properties were compared to evaluate the antibacterial effects of SNPs in the form of CS-PEO/SNP NFs against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Antibacterial effect against