Effective antibacterial electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibrous patches containing chitosan/erythromycin nanoparticles

Herein, we fabricated the antibacterial nanofibrous mats composed of cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers loaded with erythromycin-chitosan nanoparticles (Ery-CS NPs) intended for infected wound dressing. The Ery-loaded CS NPs were prepared by ionic gelation process and then incorporated into the CA electrospun nanofibers (NFs). Regarding physiochemical properties, the NPs and obtained mats were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), and contact angle measurement. The antimicrobial activity and cell viability of fibroblast cells were also evaluated. The results indicated that Ery was loaded into CS NPs with high encapsulation efficiency (95%). The CA NFs (17% w/v) incorporated with the Ery-CS NPs (12 wt%) displayed smooth homogenous morphology with 141.7 ± 91.7 nm average diameter. The relevant analyses confirmed that the NPs incorporated into NFs and provided high water holding capacity with high porosity. Finally, Ery-CS NPs/CA mats were able to inhibit the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as showed no cytotoxic effect on the human dermal fibroblast cells. Overall, our findings concluded that the proposed system could be potentially applied as the proper antibacterial mats for infected wound dressing applications.