Antibacterial Nanofibrous Mat of Pullulan/Cinnamaldehyde-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes as a Potential Cloth Mask Layer with Long-Term Storage Stability and Facile Disposal Property

There is an ongoing rise in global plastic waste becauseof themass production and vast consumption of surgical face masks duringthe COVID-19 outbreak. This problem leads to a crucial need for alternativeface coverings which can eliminate environmental concerns. Using clothmasks can be a sustainable solution if combined with a functionalfiltering layer. In this study, electrospun nanofibrous mats (NM)were generated using a renewable biopolymer; pullulan by the incorporationof cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (& gamma;CD-IC) of naturally occurringessential oil compound; trans-cinnamaldehyde (CAH).Pullulan/CAH-& gamma;CD-IC NM was readily inserted into a cloth maskdue to its free-standing and foldable features and achieved higherloading efficiency (& SIM;62%) than pullulan/CAH NM (& SIM;10%).Here, pullulan/CAH-& gamma;CD-IC NM showed substantial and better antibacterialactivity, long-term storage stability, and thermal stability due toinclusion complexation. Pullulan/CAH-& gamma;CD-IC NM was also obtainedwith promising properties of pore size (& SIM;390 nm) and watervapor permeability (& SIM;890 g/m(2)/day). The water solubilityof pullulan/CAH-& gamma;CD-IC NM ensured fast and easy disposal withoutpotential environmental loading, thanks to the biocompatibility ofcomponents. Briefly, pullulan/CAH-& gamma;CD-IC NM can create an attractivealternative as a functional layer that can be combined with the clothmask. Antibacterial nanofibrous matwas developed as a functionallayer for cloth masks using sustainable sources via a "green"approach.