Antibacterial Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofibers Encapsulating Berberine-Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex

The polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers (PVA-NF) incorporating berberine-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (Ber-IC) were prepared via electrospinning. The morphology of the nanofiber membrane was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is found that the diameters of nanofiber membrane decrease with the increasing berberine content. PVA-Ber–IC–NF have shown excellent antioxidant ability, and its radical scavenging ability is 87.71 ± 0.04%. The Agar diffusion assay studies revealed the improvement in the antibacterial activity of PVA-Ber–IC–NF. Among them, due to the different sensitivities of the berberine to cell walls, Staphylococcus aureus is more effective than Escherichia coli. Additionally, the PVA-Ber–IC–NF showed an appropriate slow release and maintained an effective concentration in vitro release. The PVA-Ber–IC–NF greatly improves the utilization of berberine and provides the potential application of berberine for food, medicine and other fields. • Electrospun nanofibers were prepared from berberine-Hydroxypropyl-b-cyclodextrin inclusion complex blended with PVA. • The PVA-Ber-IC-NF exhibited higher thermal stability, antioxidant and antibacterial ability than PVA-Ber-NF. • The PVA-Ber-IC-NF showed an appropriate slow release and maintained an effective concentration in vitro release.