Multi-functional nanocellulose-chitosan dressing loaded with antibacterial lawsone for rapid hemostasis and cutaneous wound healing

Cutaneous wounds accompanied by massive bleeding, bacterial infections might be lethal and cause fundamental therapeutic impediments in clinical fields. As part of the push for a solution, biomaterial having hemostatic-antibacterial features is highly desirable. Inspired by this concept, freeze dried sponges were developed followed by combining tempo-oxidized nanocellulose (TOCN), chitosan using EDC/NHS cross-linker with antibacterial lawsone loading for controlled delivery of this compound during wound healing. The pore diameter decreased upon increasing chitosan (2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5% w/v) while TOCN ensured scaffold's mechanical stability. The in vitro degradation, lawsone release from fibroblast cell-compatible sponge was faster in acidic pH 5.5 than physiologic pH 7.4 indicating adaptability to physiological skin milieu of wounds. The rat tail amputation model, 14 days rat full-thickness cutaneous-wound model ensured hemostasis, dramatic wound closure after TLC4.5 (optimized scaffold) treatment suggesting its potential as functional wound healing substitute showing obvious avenue for hemostatis and skin tissue reconstruction arena.