A multifunctional bacterial cellulose wound dressing based on cotton fabric for infected wound healing

Wound infections caused by bacterial overgrowth can delay wound healing and burden patients heavily. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a desirable material for wound healing, but it is expensive to produce and lacks antibacterial properties. In this study, we present an innovative and effective strategy to prepare BC-Cot using hydrolysate from cotton fabrics. After combining with an antimicrobial peptide (AMPs) inspired by sea cucumber lectin to make a multifunctional wound dressing. After systematically optimizing the processes of cotton fabric hydrolysis and BC preparation, BC-Cot displayed comparable production yields and finer fiber diameter than BC prepared from glucose. The Schiff base reaction enables material modification under mild conditions without any promoter, simplifying the preparation process and avoiding toxic reagents. A dialdehyde BC (DBC) was obtained after oxidation of BC-Cot. By grafting the peptides onto DBC via Schiff base reaction, we obtained a multifunctional wound dressing (DBCP). It exhibited significant antimicrobial activity and greatly accelerated the healing of infected wounds. Additionally, DBCP has strong adhesive properties that can quickly stop wound bleeding. The wound tissues showed a reduced number of inflammatory cells, newly formed hair follicles, and obvious collagen deposition. This research provides the possibility for waste cotton fabric recycling and presents an effective wound dressing for promoting wound hemostasis and healing.