Antimonous oxide and chromium oxide modified polystyrene with enhanced structure and cell viability for medical applications

Different combinations of chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃), antimonous oxide (Sb₂O₃), and graphene oxide (GO) in a polymeric phase of polystyrene (PS). The mixture is exposed to an electrospinning process to obtain a nanofibrous structure. The structure is investigated using the X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), and the chemical structure is examined by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, SEM microscopy is used to investigate the topology of the scaffold surface. The structural analysis showed that Cr₂O₃ has trigonal symmetry, while Sb₂O₃ has an orthorhombic crystal structure. Furthermore, the existence of PS is detected using FTIR. The micrographs showed that the average diameter of the nanofibers reached 200 nm as the smallest value and 5 μm as the largest value. Moreover, in vitro examination is done towards fibroblast cells, and the IC₅₀ is measured and the concentration is 650 μg/mL.for Cr₂O₃/Sb₂O₃/GO@PS. Furthermore, the optical measurements show that all samples have no transmission of electromagnetic radiation in the range of 200–1000 nm. The investigation of cells shows the ability to use Cr₂O₃/Sb₂O₃/GO@PS as multifunctional material for several applications including biomedical applications.