Curcumin-loaded polyvinyl alcohol/nanocellulose/ nano zinc oxide nanofiber membranes with enhanced strength, moisture resistance, and antibacterial properties

Abstract

To meet the practical application demands of nanofiber membranes (NFMs) under humid conditions, a PVA/NC/ZnO_(S) NFM was successfully fabricated by incorporating nano zinc oxide (ZnO_(S)) into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/nanocellulose (NC) matrix, combined with nitrogen-assisted thermal treatment. The synergistic effect of ZnO_(S)-induced heterogeneous nucleation and thermal processing significantly enhanced the crystallinity of the NFM (up to 49.71 %), improving its anti-swelling behavior and liquid absorption capacity—with an absorption rate of up to 1906 % for artificial blood. Building on this foundation, a dual-layer drug-loading strategy was developed by combining the PVA/NC/ZnO_(S) NFM with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) to encapsulate curcumin (Cur). The resulting drug-loaded NFM maintained excellent mechanical strength (29.17 MPa at a 1.5 % drug loading) and demonstrated favorable moisture resistance and antibacterial activity. Moreover, its in vitro drug release behavior could be finely tuned by adjusting the drug loading and external pH conditions. Overall, the synergistic enhancement and dual-encapsulation strategy proposed in this study provides an effective solution to the common challenges of swelling and instability in traditional drug carriers under wet conditions, and demonstrates promising potential in the design and application of biomedical wound dressings.