Formation of nanofibers containing aloe vera using a non-conventional electrospinning setup

Abstract

In this work we propose a non-conventional electrospinning setup that can be used to obtain a netlike structure with nanofibers entangled and connected through ramifications/nodes. The nanofibers were obtained using a solution with poly (ethylene oxide), a biodegradable polymer, dissolved in commercial aloe vera juice, aiming at applications in tissue engineering. The structure results with the extremities connected to grounded electrodes (separated by 5 cm) and can be easily removed/transferred. SEM analysis reveals that the nanofibers have a uniform diameter of the order of 180 nm. FTIR results show the interaction of aloe vera with PEO, confirming the presence of aloe vera in the nanofibers.