Design and biofabrication of barnacle and spider silk protein decorated composite bacterial cellulose for diabetic wound healing

Delayed healing of wounds in diabetics is mainly due to tissue inflammation, poor vasculature, lack of neovascularization, and bacterial infection. Therefore, a therapeutic protocol that disrupts this cycle and speeds healing is urgently needed. Despite attempts to enhance wound dressing effectiveness through hydrogels with diverse complexes such as bacterial cellulose (BC) combined with chitosan, BC/ chitosan/hyaluronic acid, and BC/chitosan/collagen, the toughness and adhesion properties of hydrogel remain constrained, leading to inadequate and uncontrollable wound healing. To address the challenge, we have devised an innovative solution by integrating barnacle cement protein (cp19k) and spider silk protein (major ampullate spidroin 1, MaSp1) into a BC matrix, complemented by chitosan. This development has led to the creation of a novel BC-based composite hydrogel BC/cp19k-MaSp1/C_150k. The composite hydrogel stands out with its remarkable mechanical (3.92 Mpa) and adhesion properties (8.4 kPa) compared to its BC/C_150k counterpart. Meanwhile, the BC/cp19k-MaSp1/C_150k hydrogel also demonstrated antimicrobial activity, coagulation, and biocompatibility. The BC/cp19k-MaSp1/C_150k hydrogel showed an exceptional capacity to enhance wound healing in a diabetic rat model, achieving a significant wound closure rate of over 98 % on day 14 when compared to BC and commercially available dressing 3 M™ Tegaderm™. This advancement holds significant promise in revolutionizing wound management for diabetics.