Antimicrobial wound dressing nanofiber mats from multicomponent (chitosan/silver-NPs/polyvinyl alcohol) systems

► 20nm Ag-NPs in high concentration (3142ppm) prepared in chitosan solution. ► High PVA/CS-Ag-NPs blending ratio (60/40, v/v) were established. ► Lower fiber diameter was obtained by increasing chitosan and Ag-NPs content. ► Superior antimicrobial activity of PVA/CS-Ag-NPs nanofibers mats. Novel hybrid nanomaterials have been developed for antimicrobial applications. Here we introduce a green route to produce antibacterial nanofiber mats loaded with silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs, 25nm diameter) enveloped in chitosan after reduction with glucose. The nanofiber mats were obtained from colloidal dispersions of chitosan-based Ag-NPs blended with polyvinyl alcohol. Nanofibers (150nm average diameter and narrow size distribution) were obtained by electrospinning and cross-linked with glutaraldhyde. The effect of crosslinking on the release of silver was studied by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Antimicrobial activity was studied by the viable cell-counting; mats loaded with silver and control samples (chitosan/PVA) with different degrees of cross-linking were compared for their effectiveness in reducing or halting the growth of aerobic bacteria. The results showed superior properties and synergistic antibacterial effects by combining chitosan with Ag-NPs.