Bacterial Cellulose-Based Nanocomposites for Wound Healing Applications

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a polysaccharide produced by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with a strictly aerobic metabolism, having a huge number of significant applications in the biomedical field. This study investigates the development of bacterial cellulose (BC)-based composite systems that incorporate cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) used as antibacterial agents to enhance wound healing, particularly for burn treatments. The innovation of this study resides in the integration of CeO2 NPs synthesized by using a precipitation method using both chemical and green reducing agents, ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) and turmeric extract (TE), in BC membranes composed of ultrathin nanofibers interwoven into a three-dimensional network appearing as a hydrogel mass. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the effective deposition of this agent onto the BC matrix. Antibacterial activity tests against E. coli and B. subtilis indicated strong inhibition for the composites synthesized following these routes, particularly for the BC-CeO2-TE-OH sample, processed by employing both precipitating agents. Cytotoxicity evaluations showed no inhibition of cell activity. Additionally, loading the composites with dexamethasone endowed them with analgesic release over 4 h, as observed through ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), while the FTIR spectra revealed a sustained drug presence post-release. These findings highlight BC-based films as promising candidates for advanced wound care and tissue engineering applications.