Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2024) 139: 836
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05632-y

Technical Report

Surface modification of electrospun gelatin/PVA nanofibers via dielectric barrier discharge plasma for enhanced mechanical properties

Department of Physics, Tezpur University, 784028, Assam, India

^d rajib@tezu.ernet.in

Received: 12 January 2024
Accepted: 9 September 2024
Published online: 21 September 2024

Abstract

Atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge plasma offers a valuable approach for modifying biomaterial surfaces by adjusting their chemical and physical properties at ambient temperature while preserving the bulk material. This study examines the effects of atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge (A-DBD) plasma treatment on polyvinyl alcohol/gelatin (PVA/Ge) nanofiber mats, focusing on changes in mechanical properties and surface characteristics. Plasma treatment of electrospun PVA/Ge nanofibers is carried out at atmospheric pressure with oxygen (O₂) gas. With the incorporation of oxygen-contained polar functional groups, the surface of O₂ plasma-treated (PVA/Ge/O2) nanofibers contributes to decreasing the contact angle. The plasma-treated naofiber mat showed an improvement in tensile strength (25.58%) and Young’s modulus (25.33%) compared to the untreated nanofiber mats. The change in X-ray diffraction is clearly seen with the jump of 16.61% in the crystallinity of the plasma-treated mats compared to the untreated mats. The results suggest that surface modification of electrospun PVA/Ge nanofiber mats with A-DBD plasma-treated enhances the mechanical properties of materials, which are essential and have the potential to be used as wound dressings and scaffolds for tissue engineering.