Fabrication and characterization of electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibers derived from rice husk for potential wound healing application

Abstract

As one of the world’s most abundant biomass, lignocellulosic materials such as rice husk (RH) has been recognized for its various potential usages. Electrospun nanofibrous mats have been fabricated from various natural and synthetic polymers and offers a wide range of promising criteria suitable for wound dressing applications. Attuned to the environmental concerns in current years have led to finding new resources to replace the synthetic polymers. Natural polymers have grabbed considerable attention due to their desirable properties. Therefore, the application of cellulose-derived materials from agricultural waste becomes crucial as a green alternative to produce electrospun wound dressing with excellent wettability, porosity and tunability to promote wound healing at relatively low costs. Interestingly, a specific study on the utilization of cellulose extracted from RH to produce electrospun nanofibrous mat remains unreported. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate the feasibility of using RH as a source of raw materials to create nanofibrous mats for use as prospective wound dressing materials. As researchers currently focus on environmental sustainability, this study focuses on the physicochemical study of the RH derived nanofibers as a biocompatibility drug carrier that are derived from biomass waste. In this paper, cellulose extracted from RH was converted into its derivate, cellulose acetate and electrospun. The nanofibers were then characterized by scanning electron microscope, attenuated total reflectance- fourier transform spectroscopy, water contact angle to evaluate the main properties, and compatibility of the electrospun nano-fibrous mat for wound dressing applications.