Chitosan/nanocellulose electrospun fibers with enhanced antibacterial and antifungal activity for wound dressing applications

The combination of biodegradable fibers at nanoscale with plant-based extracts is attracting increasing attention to produce wound dressing systems. In this work, nanofibers based on chitosan (CS), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and acacia extract were developed by electrospinning. Firstly, the polymeric formulations electrospinning parameters optimized, resulting in average diameters 80 nm. CNC successfully introduced into optimized CS/PEO blend membranes characterized FESEM, ATR-FTIR, TGA, XRD, WVTR WCA. incorporation improved nanofibers' physical integrity, morphology, diameters, water vapor transmission rate thermal properties. After introduction best CS/PEO/CNC system, antibacterial effect was relatively maintained while antifungal activity enhanced for some fungi, demonstrating its great against a wide range microorganisms, which crucial prevent or treat infections. All systems exhibited absence cytotoxicity non-tumor cells, suggesting their biocompatibility. Finally, continuous release observed 24 h, showing prolonged action, contributes healing process reduces frequency dressing's replacement. Overall, are very promising act as localized drug delivery care applications.