Effective Drug Carrier Based on Polyethylenimine-Functionalized Bacterial Cellulose with Controllable Release Properties

The development of low-cost biological materials with controlled drug release profile is of great importance but challenging in pharmaceutical industry. Recently, bacterial cellulose nanofibers have provoked intensive research interests in tissue engineering and the pharmaceutical science due to their stability, availability, sustainability, and low toxicity. Here we describe the development of a PEI (polyethylenimine)-grafted bacterial cellulose (BC) as an efficient drug delivery system. The PEI-BC aerogels were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and zeta potential measurements. The optimum sample exhibited enhanced mechanical strength, remarkable adsorption capacity toward aspirin, BSA, and gentamicin, prolonged and pH-dependent drug release, and low cytotoxicity. Our work has presented a rational structure design from biomass for controllable drug carrier.