Nanocellulose Sponges Containing Antibacterial Basil Extract.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Natural Product Chemistry

Background:

• Nanocellulose (NC) is promising for biomedical uses but lacks inherent antimicrobial activity.
• Enhancing NC's antibacterial properties is crucial for applications like tissue engineering and wound dressings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop antibacterial nanocellulose sponges by incorporating basil ethanolic extract (BE) and basil seed mucilage (BSM).
• To characterize the morphology, porosity, mechanical strength, and antibacterial efficacy of the resulting NC/BE and NC/BE/BSM sponges.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanocellulose sponges via freeze-drying of NC suspensions with varying amounts of BE and BSM.
• Characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for morphology and microcomputer tomography for porosity.
• Assessment of mechanical properties (specific compression strength) and antibacterial activity against *S. aureus*.
• Evaluation of cytotoxicity using the L929 cell line.

Main Results:

• All sponges exhibited an open-cell, nanofibrillar structure; higher BE content led to denser impregnation.
• Open porosity ranged from 70% to 82%, decreasing with higher BE/BSM content due to pore filling.
• Specific compression strength increased with higher BE content.
• A slight inhibition of *S. aureus* growth was observed with higher BE concentrations; no cytotoxicity was detected.

Conclusions:

• Basil extract and mucilage can successfully impart antibacterial properties to nanocellulose sponges.
• The developed materials possess suitable porosity and mechanical strength for biomedical applications.
• These findings highlight a simple method for creating functionalized nanocellulose for tissue engineering and drug delivery.