This study investigated the efficiency of chitosan/polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based nanofibers with incorporated bioactive glass particles as a coating for titanium alloy, in order to improve the bacteriostatic behavior and, concurrently, promote the production of mineralized tissue. Nanofibers with and without bioglass powder were fabricated by electrospinning technique and characterized using several microscopic and spectroscopic techniques in order to study their morphological and physiochemical properties. Subsequently, the substrates were tested in vitro against Staphylococcus epidermidis and SaOS-2 human osteosarcoma cell line. After in vitro testing, viability and CFU counting assays combined with fluorescence microscopy showed a clear decrease in bacterial growth on all substrates with increasing time. However, this trend was stronger for substrates coated with nanofibers. Formation of mineralized matrix upon exposure to osteoblasts was confirmed by means of SEM/EDX and the content/distribution of osteocalcin and osteopontin estimated by fluorescence microscopy. Incorporation of bioglass promoted biomineralization and stimulated osteoblasts to produce a higher amount of bone extracellular matrix. The present results suggest that a chitosan/PEO/bioactive glass nanofiber composite applied as coating on titanium alloys could concurrently improve antibacterial and osteoconductive properties and could be a potential candidate for dental and orthopedic applications.

The demand for an efficient oil sorbent with high sorption capacity, low cost, scalable fabrication, and high selectivity for the cleanup of spreading oil on water is increasingly urgent due to the frequent occurrence of oil spill accidents in seawater all over the world. In this study, porous polystyrene (PS) fibers with high hydrophobicity and superoleophilicity were directly fabricated by a centrifugal spinning method (CS). The effect of solvents, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dimethylformamide (DMF) on the morphology and porous structure of the polystyrene fibers was evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption experiments. The formation mechanism for the porous structure on the fibers was also evaluated. The oil sorption capacities of the PS fibers for silicon oil, pump oil, and vegetable oil were investigated. The highest oil sorption capacity was found in PS fibers fabricated from PS solution with a THF/DMF weight ratio of 1/3, which exhibited the highest specific surface area, pore volume, and porosity. The high productivity and highly porous structure of PS fibers indicate that CS is a promising method to fabricate porous fibers for the cleanup of oil spills.

The present work investigated the effect of Polylactic acid (PLA) fibers produced by centrifugal spinning with incorporated BaTiO₃ particles to improve their bacteriostatic behavior. The PLA matrix and three composites, presenting three different amounts of fillers, were subjected to UV/O₃ treatment monitoring the possible modifications that occurred over time. The morphological and physical properties of the surfaces were characterized by different microscopic techniques, contact angle, and surface potential measurements. Subsequently, the samples were tested in vitro with human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) to verify the cytotoxicity of the substrates. No significant differences between the PLA matrix and composites emerged; the high hydrophobicity of the fibers, derived by the polymer structure, represented an obstacle limiting the fibroblast attachment. Samples underwent bacterial exposure (Staphylococcus epidermidis) for 12 and 24 h. Increasing the concentration of BT, the number of living bacteria and their distribution decreased in comparison with the PLA matrix suggesting an effect of the inorganic filler, which generates a neutralization effect leading to reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and subsequently to bacterial damages. These results suggest that the barium titanate (BT) fillers clearly improve the antibacterial properties of PLA fibers after aging tests made before bacterial exposure, representing a potential candidate in the creation of composites for medical applications.

The preservation of marine ecosystems is one of the most severe challenges at present. In particular, oil‐water separation from oil spills and oily wastewater is important. For this reason, a low‐cost, effective, and sustainable polymeric solution is in high demand. In this work, a controlled‐wettability membrane for selective separation of oil‐water mixtures and emulsions is developed. The nanofibrous membrane is prepared via a facile and cost‐effective electrospinning technique using environmentally sustainable materials, such as recycled polyethylene terephthalate and chitosan. The effect of different concentrations of chitosan on the morphology, chemical composition, mechanical properties, wettability, and separation performance of the membrane is evaluated. The membranes exhibited underoil superhydrophobic and underwater superoleophobic behavior, which is essential to perform the selective separation. In fact, the designed filter has competitive antifouling properties (oil intrusion pressure > 45 kPa) and showed high heavy‐ and light‐oil/water separation efficiencies (>95%) both for emulsions and immiscible mixtures.

A polystyrene (PS)-based fibrous color dosimeter, comprising a color former based on 2-(phenylamino)-6-(dipentylamino)-3-methylspiro[9H-xanthene-9,3′-phthalide] (Black305) fluoran leuco dye and a 2-(4-methoxystyryl)-4,6-bis(trichloromethyl)-1,3,5-triazine (MBTT) photoacid generator, was developed for visual detection of X-ray doses of 15 Gy and higher. The composite fiber was produced by using a centrifugal spinning method, and the obtained composite fiber exhibited a stable and uniform morphology with a fiber diameter of 10 μm or less and had sufficient mechanical strength. As an example of practical application, we successfully processed the composite fiber into an apron and clearly and visually confirmed that the color change from yellow to black occurs on the surface of the fabric under X-ray exposure.