Hen’s egg yolk (HEY) is rich in proteins, lipids, and vitamins, making it highly biocompatible for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. Its inherent antimicrobial and antioxidant properties further enhance its utility in developing therapeutic agents and medical devices. This study investigates the effects of vacuum oxygen (O₂) plasma treatment at varying power levels (96, 144, 192, and 240 W) on the properties of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/amoxicillin hydrochloride trihydrate (Amox)/HEY nanofibers. Plasma treatment effectively improved the antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility of the nanofibers, suggesting their promising applications in biomedicine. Electrospun nanofibers, subjected to varying power levels 96 (0.4 A), 144 (0.6 A), 192 (0.8 A), and 240 W (1.0 A), at a constant input voltage of 240 V, exhibited notable improvements in wettability, tensile strength, and change in elongation at break. Within the power range of 96–240 W, these nanofibers also exhibited a significant increase in the release rate of Amox. However, plasma treatment beyond 144 W resulted in only marginal enhancements in the drug release rate. Additionally, the plasma‐treated nanofibers demonstrated good antibacterial activity against both Gram‐negative E. coli and Gram‐positive bacteria S. aureus . Both untreated and plasma‐treated PVA/Amox/HEY electrospun nanofibers maintained high cell viability (> 97%) and minimal hemolysis activity (97%) for treatments up to 144 W. Optimized biocompatibility and drug release kinetics support potential wound dressing applications.
Nath et al. (Thu,) studied this question.