Study on Antibacterial and Biocompatibility of Thermally Crosslinked Polyvinylpyrrolidone Nanofiber Iodine Complexes

Polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine (PVP-I) complexes are widely used in the medical and health field due to its strong antimicrobial properties and good biocompatibility, but their water solubility negates the possibility to be used as a wound dressing. In this work, the problem of PVP dissolving in water was solved by the method of thermally crosslinking, and it was found that the thermally crosslinked PVP nanofiber heated at 170 °C for 6 h had good liquid absorption capacity, stability and good fiber morphology. In addition, the thermally crosslinked PVP nanofiber is complexed with I 2 to endow it with excellent antibacterial properties. It has been demonstrated to have good biocompatibility through cytotoxicity and hemolysis experiments, which provides the possibility for it to be a dressing for the treatment of infectious wounds.