# Isobornyl and Isocamphyl Photostabilizers in Poly(lactic acid)-Based Electrospun Fibers

## TL;DR

This study explores how adding specific photostabilizers to polylactide fibers helps protect them from UV-C radiation damage.

## Contribution

The paper introduces and evaluates new photostabilizers, DIBP and NICA, in electrospun polylactide fibers under UV-C exposure.

## Key findings

- DIBP and NICA showed significant stabilization effects on polylactide under UV-C radiation.
- The glass transition temperature (Tg) was the most sensitive indicator of UV-C damage in stabilized samples.
- PLA/DIBP(1) and PLA/NICA(1) samples provided the best UV-C protection based on Tg values.

## Abstract

In this work, electrospun polylactide fibers with new photostabilizing additives, 4-methyl-2,6-diisobornylphenol (DIBP) and N-isocamphylaniline (NICA), have been tested under the influence of UV-C radiation (254 nm). The changes in the polymers’ chemical structure under UV-C radiation were revealed through the increase in absorption in the 3600–3100 cm−1 region in regard to the FTIR spectra. In the samples that were irradiated for 1 h, the stabilizing effect of the photoprotectors became most noticeable as the difference in the content of the hydroxyl groups in stabilized and the pure PLA reached a maximum. The TG–DSC method revealed that the most sensitive indicator of the irradiation effect was the glass transition temperature (Tg), which persisted after 2 h of irradiation when using photostabilizers and their combinations. The PLA/DIBP(1) and PLA/NICA(1) samples showed the best results in protecting PLA from UV-C radiation based on the Tg values; although, the mixture of DIBP and NICA was not as effective. The chemical structure of the photostabilized PLA samples was studied using NMR, GPC, and Py–GC/MS analysis. The electrospun polylactide fibers were mechanically tested and the effects of the electrospun samples on cell viability were studied.