# Electrospinning of Chitosan for Antibacterial Applications--Current Trends
## 8 Conclusions  
Material science research addressing the use of sustainable polymers to replace plastic materials has grown in prominence in recent years. Chitosan is a polycationic natural biopolymer that is ideal for an extensive range of applications, including biomedicine, filtration, and food protection, due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and sustainability. In acidic media, chitosan's amino groups are protonated, allowing it to interact with anionic microorganisms or to form metal complexes.  
In contrast to conventional coatings with chitosan-based films, the flexible parameters of the electrospinning technique, which involves the application of an electric field between a charged polymer solution and a collector, aid in tailoring the final properties of chitosan nanofibers, such as their high porosity, high surface adhesion to bacteria, small diameter, narrow pores, hydrophilicity, and rough morphology that rod-shaped bacteria can wrap themselves around. Due to the high crystallinity resulting from H-bonds between chitosan monomers, which provides high viscosity and surface tension, it is difficult to expel a steady and stable jet out of the spinneret and electrospun homogeneous continuous filaments from  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
pure chitosan; thus, it is frequently diluted with non-toxic auxiliary solvents to lower its surface tension. The second benefit of blending is that it allows the combination of the copolymer's various characteristics, such as by producing a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic surface with enhanced tensile strength and e-modulus. Since different bacterial strains are engaged in various application areas, it is critical to identify those that are sensitive to chitosan. Pathogenic bacteria, regardless of the membrane structure or classification, were found to be the least susceptible because chitosan's effect on them is not bactericidal, allowing them to reproduce and pose a threat to human health or form a biological film on filter media and reduce water permeability by clogging the pores. The use of bactericidal agents such as metallic nanoparticles in the electrospinning process improved the antibacterial activity of chitosan, in addition to improving the water flow; however, the leaching of dissociated metal ions was another issue that needed to be addressed. In food storage, chitosan nanofibers were more capable of preserving fruits and prolonging their shelf life than chitosan films because of their air permeability and ability to shield the fruit surfaces from contact with moisture. In biomedicine, the resemblance of these nanofibers to collagen fibrils in the extracellular matrix makes them an appealing alternative for drug release mechanisms. In a regulated procedure, electrospun nanofibers are packed with antibiotics and released within the tissue, with the diameter size influencing the drug release kinetics and concentration. Additionally, chitosan-based nanofibers not only protect wounds from bacteria proliferation, but their hydrophilicity also enables them to absorb excess fluids from thick wounds and aid in wound healing without leaving scars. Finally, chitosan electrospun nanofibers have great potential in a variety of application areas where antibacterial performance is crucial, although further research on this subject is needed, particularly in cases when chitosan is unable to completely kill specific bacteria strains on its own.  
Conceptualization, E.A. and L.S.; methodology, K.K. and L.S.; writing--original draft preparation, all authors; writing--review and editing, all authors; visualization, K.K. and L.S.; supervision, K.K. and L.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
Not applicable.  
The authors acknowledge personal funding from the internal funds of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.