Covalently grafting polycation to bacterial cellulose for antibacterial and anti-cell adhesive wound dressings

Kangkang Ou; Yang Liu; Lili Deng; Shiyan Chen; Song Gu; Baoxiu Wang

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132157

Covalently grafting polycation to bacterial cellulose for antibacterial and anti-cell adhesive wound dressings

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 May 7;269(Pt 2):132157. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132157. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Kangkang Ou¹, Yang Liu², Lili Deng³, Shiyan Chen⁴, Song Gu⁵, Baoxiu Wang⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, PR China; State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China. Electronic address: chensy@dhu.edu.cn.
⁵ Trauma Center, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 201620, PR China. Electronic address: song.gu@shgh.cn.
⁶ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, PR China. Electronic address: baoxiu.wang@mail.dhu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38723804
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132157

Abstract

Hydrogel-based wound dressings are becoming increasingly important for wound healing. Bacterial cellulose (BC) has been commonly used as wound dressings due to its good in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility. However, pure BC does not possess antibacterial properties. In this regard, polycation gel was grafted onto the BC using a surface-initiated activator regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ARGET ATRP) with subsequent quaternization for antibacterial wound dressing. Dimethylethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) was successfully polymerized on the BC surface which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The morphology structure, specific surface area, pore size, and mechanical properties were also characterized. The quaternized PDMAEMA grafted on the BC endowed it with excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli (Gram-negative) and S. aureus (Gram-positive) with a killing rate of 89.2 % and 93.4 %, respectively. The number of cells was significantly reduced on QPD/BC hydrogel, demonstrating its good anti-adhesion ability. In vitro cellular evaluation revealed that the antibacterial wound dressing exhibited good biocompatibility. Overall, this study provides a feasible method to develop antibacterial and anti-cell adhesive hydrogel, which has a promising potential for wound healing.

Keywords: Anti-cell adhesion; Antibacterial activity; Bacterial cellulose; Wound dressing.