Preparation of ε-polylysine and hyaluronic acid self-assembled microspheres loaded bacterial cellulose aerogels with excellent antibacterial activity

ε-Polylysine (ε-PL) is a broad antibacterial polymer. In this work, ε-PL and hyaluronic acid (HA) were self-assembled into microspheres and loaded into regenerated bacterial cellulose (RBC) to prepare RBC/HA/ε-PL aerogels. The RBC/HA/ε-PL aerogel showed a three- dimensional network structure with high porosity. The antibacterial activity of the prepared RBC/HA/ε-PL aerogel against E. coli, C. albicans and S. aureus was carried out by bacterial growth evaluation, bacteria fluorescent stain, bacterial morphology observation and the leaked protein determination. The results showed that RBC/HA/ε-PL aerogel exhibited excellent antibacterial performance by destroying the cell membranes. This work provides a novel and green material prepared by natural polymers, with potential applications in antibacterial materials area.