Fabrication of Bacterial Cellulose-Curcumin Nanocomposite as a Novel Dressing for Partial Thickness Skin Burn

Wasim Sajjad; Feng He; Muhammad Wajid Ullah; Muhammad Ikram; Shahid Masood Shah; Romana Khan; Taous Khan; Ayesha Khalid; Guang Yang; Fazli Wahid

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2020.553037

Fabrication of Bacterial Cellulose-Curcumin Nanocomposite as a Novel Dressing for Partial Thickness Skin Burn

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020 Sep 15:8:553037. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.553037. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Haripur, Pakistan.
² Hubei Key Laboratory of Economic Forest Germplasm Improvement and Resources Comprehensive Utilization, Huanggang Normal University, Huanggang, China.
³ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Biotechnology, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
⁶ Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Abstract

The current study aimed to fabricate curcumin-loaded bacterial cellulose (BC-Cur) nanocomposite as a potential wound dressing for partial thickness burns by utilizing the therapeutic features of curcumin and unique structural, physico-chemical, and biological features of bacterial cellulose (BC). Characterization analyses confirmed the successful impregnation of curcumin into the BC matrix. Biocompatibility studies showed the better attachment and proliferation of fibroblast cells on the BC-Cur nanocomposite. The antibacterial potential of curcumin was tested against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium), and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Wound healing analysis of partial-thickness burns in Balb^c mice showed an accelerated wound closure up to 64.25% after 15 days in the BC-Cur nanocomposite treated group. Histological studies showed healthy granulation tissues, fine re-epithelialization, vascularization, and resurfacing of wound bed in the BC-Cur nanocomposite group. These results indicate that combining BC with curcumin significantly improved the healing pattern. Thus, it can be concluded that the fabricated biomaterial could provide a base for the development of promising alternatives for the conventional dressing system in treating burns.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose; biocompatibility; burns; curcumin; tissue regeneration; wound healing.