Multifunctional silver nanoparticle embedded eri silk cocoon scaffolds against burn wounds-associated infection

Antimicrobial wound dressings offer enhanced efficacy compared to conventional dressing platforms by limiting bacterial infections, expediting the healing process, and creating a barrier against additional wound contamination. The use of silk derived from silkworm cocoons in wound healing applications is attributed to its exceptional characteristics. Compared to mulberry silk, sericin from non-mulberry cocoons has higher water exchange mobility and moisture retention. Eri, a non-mulberry silkworm, is an unexplored source of silk with an eco-friendly nature of production where the natural life cycle of silkworms is not disrupted, and no moths are sacrificed. This work reports on an eri silk cocoon-based scaffold decorated with silver nanoparticles as a wound dressing material effective against burn-wound-associated multiple-drug-resistant bacteria. The UV-vis spectroscopy showed maximum absorbance at 448 nm due to the surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles. FT-IR spectra exhibited the functional groups in the eri silk proteins accountable for the reduction of Ag⁺ to Ag⁰ in the scaffold. SEM-EDX analysis revealed the presence of elemental silver, and XRD analysis confirmed their particle size of 5.66-8.82 nm. The wound dressing platform showed excellent thermal stability and hydrophobicity, fulfilling the criteria of a standard waterproof dressing material, and anticipating the prevention of bacterial biofilm formation in chronic wounds. The scaffold was found to be effective against both Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 87) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC 1688) multiple-drug-resistant pathogens. Electron microscopy revealed the bacterial cell damage, suggesting its bactericidal property. The results further revealed that the scaffold was both hemocompatible and cytocompatible, suggesting its potential application in chronic wounds such as burns. As an outcome, this study presents a straightforward, cost-effective, and sustainable way of developing a multifunctional wound dressing platform, suggesting its significant therapeutic potential in clinical and biomedical sectors and facile commercialization.