Fabrication, Physicochemical Characterization and Antibacterial Evaluation of MgO-Modified PAN/PVP Electrospun Nanofibers

Abstract

Magnesium oxide (MgO)–reinforced polyacrylonitrile/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PAN/PVP) nanofibers were successfully fabricated via electrospinning, and their structural, thermal, and antibacterial properties were systematically investigated. Owing to its chemical stability and antibacterial properties, MgO was incorporated into the PAN/PVP matrix at loadings of 1, 3, and 5 wt% to enhance multifunctional performance. The effects of MgO content on fiber morphology, structure, wettability, and thermal behavior were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), water contact angle measurements (WCA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The SEM-EDS results supported the incorporation of MgO nanoparticles into the PAN/PVP nanofiber matrix and indicated the presence of Mg- and O-related signals in the MgO-containing samples. Compared to pristine PAN/PVP nanofibers, MgO incorporation resulted in higher residual mass. Uniform, bead-free nanofibers with consistent diameters were obtained from a 15 wt% PAN/PVP solution containing 5 wt% MgO. In in vitro antibacterial tests, samples loaded with 5% weight MgO were found to show measurable inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus; the inhibition zone diameters were measured as 17±0 mm and 21±0.5 mm for 10PAN/PVP/5MgO and 15PAN/PVP/5MgO, respectively. Overall, these findings suggest that MgO-reinforced PAN/PVP nanofibers may be promising candidates for antibacterial surface materials, protective coatings, filtration media, and protective textile applications.