Antibacterial Activity of Photoactive Silk Fibroin/Cellulose Acetate Blend Nanofibrous Membranes against <i>Escherichia coli</i>

Abstract

Creating photoactive nanofibrous membranes for effective antibacterial activity is highly desired for healthy living, yet it still remains a great challenge. Herein, we present a scalable methodology to prepare anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid grafted silk fibroin/cellulose acetate blend nanofibrous membranes (G-SF/CA BNM) by combining green biomass materials and electrospinning, which could produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) under UVA irradiation. The resultant G-SF/CA BNMs exhibited integrated properties of ultrathin fiber diameter (154 nm), larger surface area (11.25 m2 g–1), good mechanical properties, robust photoactive activity, and high bactericidal efficiency (99.9999% contact-killing). The fabrication of such fascinating materials may provide new insights into the design and development of photoactive nanofibrous membranes for antibacterial application.