Hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were dissolved in water in order to be electrospun. The electrospun membranes showed porous structure with fibers having diameter of 255 +/- 65 nm. Synthesized silver nanoparticles of 5-8 nm were embedded into the HPC/PEO matrix to improve the strength. It was seen that the embedding of silver particles into the polymer matrix improved the membrane strength similar to 4 times. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.