Fabrication and Physicochemical Characterization of Bacterial Nano-cellulose Based Wound Dressing

Background: Bacterial nano-cellulose (BNC) and Alginate (Alg) have widely used in biomedical applications due to their nontoxicity and moisture nature. The main drawbacks which limit the wide applications of Alg are lack of antibacterial activity and poor mechanical property. To overcome these drawbacks, sodium alginate (Alg-Na) was inserted in the BNC matrix and crosslinked with three different cations. Materials and method: In this study, cationic ions aqueous solution of Mn۲+, Co۲+, and Ce+ at ۰.۰۵, ۰.۱, ۰.۳, and ۰.۵ M were prepared, respectively. Different concentrations of cationic ion solutions were added to the same volume of Alg-Na solution. The appearance and hardness of obtained hydrogels were evaluated. To enhance the mechanical property of cationic ion crosslinked Algs, Alg-Na was inserted into the BNC matrix by a novel vacuum suction method to achieve BNC/Alg, and the BNC/Alg was immersed into different cationic ion solutions. The antibacterial activity, release of cation at pH ۵.۵, ۷.۴, and ۸.۴, mechanical property, blood clotting rate, and cytotoxicity of the dressing materials were evaluated in vivo and in vitro and compared. Results: Different cationic ion crosslinked Algs showed concentration-dependent hydrogels. All synthesized dressing materials showed great antibacterial activity, and the dressing materials can act as intelligent dressings due to a pH-responsive property. All dressing materials showed nontoxicity toward L۹۲۹ fibroblast cells and a better clotting rate than pristine BNC. In vivo animal wound healing evaluation demonstrated faster healing by the use of the dressing materials in comparison to pristine BNC. Conclusion: Naturally-derived dressing materials were successfully synthesized by the use of a simple, cheap, and easy method, which not only have antibacterial activity but also could act as a smart wound dressing in an infected wound.

Keywords:

Bacterial nanocellulose , wound dressing , pH-responsive , cationic ion