The Properties of Nanofiber Membranes Made of Aloe Vera Gel Combined with Polyvinyl Alcohol

Aloe Vera gel (AVG), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are compatible materials with the human tissues. The current research studied the characteristic of nanofiber membranes made of AVG (aloe Vera filtrate/AVF) and aloe Vera extract (AVE) combined with PVA with varying AVF concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 wt.%), while AVE concentrations ranged from 0 to 5 wt.%. Changes in surface morphologies and tensile properties of the nanofiber membranes due to AVF and AVE concentrations and the correlation effect between them are the goals of this research. The fiber diameter and tensile strength of AVF/PVA membranes increased with AVF concentration. The AVF/PVA membrane with 30 wt.% AVF showed the highest tensile strength (3.58 MPa) and 233 nm in fiber diameter. The addition of 1% AVE concentration, significantly improved the tensile strength and modulus of AVE/AVF/PVA membrane: i.e., 8.78 MPa and 26.8 MPa, respectively, with a smaller fiber diameter around 124 nm. At AVE concentration higher than 1%, the tensile properties gradually decreased, and fiber diameter increased. As a result, the properties of the AVE/AVF/PVA membranes could be the candidate material for wound dressing due to their comparable properties to that of natural skin.