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Herbal plants have been used in medicine since ancient times due to their health benefits. The research in this field continues to reveal advantages of these plants such as antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria and possibility to integrate extracts in fibers by electrospinning. Electrospinning is a simple, yet versatile method of creating polymer-based nanofiber web, which can be used for wound dressings, tissue engineering and drug delivery systems. In production of electrospun nanofibers a solution of biocompatible polymer and a plant extract is needed. Therefore exploration of such composition ingredients is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solubility of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofiber mats (PVAES-NFM) is strongly influenced by loading with nanocellulose (NC). The NC was derived from hemp shives obtained by steam explosion autohydrolysis followed by water and alkaline extraction, ball milling, and ultrasonication treatments. It was demonstrated for the first time that PVAES-NFM does not disintegrate in aqueous medium after simple adding of NC without any additional chemical or physical modification (PVAES-NFMNC). The structural and thermal studies on PVAES-NFMNC indicated that enhanced stability in aqueous medium can be explained by interactions between surface groups of NC and PVA macromolecules as well as by reinforcing the effect of NCs. The experimental findings could be important for filtration applications in environments with high relative humidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) modification with lignocellulose nanowhiskers (LCNWs) produced from hemp shives without using harsh preparation steps. LCNWs were obtained by using steam explosion (SE) pretreatment, ball milling, and ultrasonication. Formation of LCNWs was confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Obtained LCNWs were used to modify the mechanical properties of electrospun PVA nanofibers. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy analyses provided clear evidence of the presence of cellulose nanowhiskers in the PVA/LCNW electrospun mats. It was found that tensile stress at break increases more than fivefold for PVA nanofiber mats reinforced with LCNWs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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A study of nanofibre composites obtained by electro spinning from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solutions of steam exploded hemp fibres and shives is reported. A combined treatment of steam explosion (SE), ball milling, and high-intensity ultrasound (HIUS) is applied to prepare cellulose nanofibres (CNF) from hemp fibres (CNF-F) and shives (CNF-S). The reflectance Fourier transform infrared (FTIR ATR) spectroscopy is used to analyze the obtained PVA/CNF composite mats. Morphology of the PVA/CNF composites was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Research aim is to find the most time and energy economic treatment of natural fibres to obtain micro and nanofibres. Alkaline treatment, steam explosion autohydrolysis and ultrasonic treatment effect on hemp fibres and shives dimensions were examined. Fibres length, diameter, form factor and sifting amount were analyzed. The results of the analysis show that an increase in treatment intensity gives a higher amount of fibres being noticeably shorter and thinner than the untreated dew-retted fibres. Fine content of fibres and shives increases, when treatment intensity increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]