Centrifugally spun ZnO fibers: synthesis and antibacterial activity against Acne vulgaris.

In this work, a novel approach for the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) fibers is presented that is based on centrifugal spinning from optimized spinning solutions, followed by tailored annealing. The resulting ZnO fibers were evaluated for their antibacterial properties and compared to commercial ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). Initially, precursor fibers were produced by centrifugal spinning using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and zinc nitrate solutions. The as-spun fibers were subsequently annealed at 500 °C to produce ZnO fibers with an average diameter of 1 µm. The fibers were then milled for 20 seconds at a constant frequency using a ball mill, yielding an average fiber length of 6.6 µm. Comprehensive characterization was performed using SEM, XRD, and BET analyses together with evaluation of antibacterial activity against Acne vulgaris (AV)-causing bacteria, Cutibacterium acnes, which was compared with ZnO NPs with an average diameter of 40 nm. The obtained results revealed antibacterial activity of as-synthesized ZnO fibers from a concentration of 1 wt% when dispersed in suspension. These findings underscore the potential of ZnO fibers for antibacterial applications, particularly in the treatment of AV.