A comprehensive study on Plantago ovata/PVA biocompatible nanofibers: Fabrication,characterization, and biological assessment

In this study, a biocompatible nanofiber is fabricated using Plantago ovata mucilage (POM) combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which is considered as a non-toxic polymer. High quality nanofibers were produced by controlling the electrospinning parameters after selecting an appropriate solvent for the POM/PVA combination (12% PVA and 3% POM). Electrospinning parameters, including high voltage, distance from collector to tip, feed rate and POM to PVA proportion were optimized following preparation of an aqueous POM/PVA solution. Using the results of scanning electron microscopy, the optimized electrospinning conditions for producing POM/PVA nanofibers were determined (high voltage = 18 kV, distance = 15 cm, feed rate = 0.125 ml/hr, PMM/PVA = 50/50) and uniform nanofibers with an average diameter of 250 nm were produced. The POM/PVA nanofiber sample was evaluated by determining the mechanical strength, characterization of produced nanofiber morphology, and investigating the cell viability by applying MTT assay. The bands for both POM and PVA from FTIR results showed that the samples remained stable. The tensile strength results showed that blending POM with PVA solution enhanced the Young's modulus by factor of 3.2 (0.2 MPa to 0.64 MPa). The MTT analysis on POM/PVA cell lines proved that the produced nanofiber considerably enabled the cellular proliferation. Enhancement in these analysis indicated how POM-based nanofibers is a promising scaffold for cell culture, drug delivery systems and food additives.