Antibacterial, Cytocompatible, Sustainably Sourced: Cellulose Membranes with Bifunctional Peptides for Advanced Wound Dressings

Abstract

Progressive antibiotic resistance is a serious condition adding to the challenges associated with skin wound treatment, and antibacterial wound dressings with alternatives to antibiotics are urgently needed. Cellulose‐based membranes are increasingly considered as wound dressings, necessitating further functionalization steps. A bifunctional peptide, combining an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) and a cellulose binding peptide (CBP), is designed. AMPs affect bacteria via multiple modes of action, thereby reducing the evolutionary pressure selecting for antibiotic resistance. The bifunctional peptide is successfully immobilized on cellulose membranes of bacterial origin or electrospun fibers of plant‐derived cellulose, with tight control over peptide concentrations (0.2 ± 0.1 to 4.6 ± 1.6 µg mm−2). With this approach, new materials with antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (log4 reduction) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (log1 reduction) are developed. Furthermore, membranes are cytocompatible in cultures of human fibroblasts. Additionally, a cell adhesive CBP‐RGD peptide is designed and immobilized on membranes, inducing a 2.2‐fold increased cell spreading compared to pristine cellulose. The versatile concept provides a toolbox for the functionalization of cellulose membranes of different origins and architectures with a broad choice in peptides. Functionalization in tris‐buffered saline avoids further purification steps, allowing for translational research and multiple applications outside the field of wound dressings.

In Vitro Efficacy of Bacterial Cellulose Dressings Chemisorbed with Antiseptics against Biofilm Formed by Pathogens Isolated from Chronic Wounds

“… Examples of compounds/substances/molecules introduced to bacterial cellulose (BC) as an antimicrobial additive. MgO—magnesium oxide; CuO—copper oxide; TiO 2 —titanium dioxide; ZnO—zinc oxide; Na-MMT—sodium montmorillonite; Ca-MMT—calcium montmorillonite; Cu-MMT—copper montmorillonite [ 92 , 99 , 100 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , …”

Conductive Materials for Healing Wounds: Their Incorporation in Electroactive Wound Dressings, Characterization, and Perspectives

“…Cellulose and its derivatives have been extensively used for blood purification, [ 84 ] drug delivery, [ 85 ] and wound healing. [ 86 ] However, the effectiveness of traditional cellulose‐based wound dressings is limited by their lack of active healing properties. [ 87 ] Conductive PPy can be coated on microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) to fabricate electroactive aerogels, using an in situ polymerization‐induced adsorption process ( Figure a).…”

From Residues to Added-Value Bacterial Biopolymers as Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

“…The resulting antimicrobial fusion protein was attached to commercial cellulose gauzes, which then displayed bactericidal activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [216]. A shortened CBD motive of only 7 amino acids was fused to a short antimicrobial peptide (12 amino acids), resulting in membranes that displayed up to 4 logarithmic units of reduction against Gram-positive S. aureus and 1 logarithmic unit reduction against Gram-negative P. aeruginosa [217].…”