Evaluation of wet nanocellulose membranes produced by different bacterial strains for healing full-thickness skin defects

Abstract

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is an excellent candidate biomaterial for wound dressing applications, although its preparation should consider the differences in wound healing resulting from BNC biosynthesized by different bacterial strains. This study design aimed to characterize the BNC produced by three different bacterial strains and compare their effectiveness for wound healing applications. The results demonstrated that the upper surfaces of the BNC membranes were clearly denser and more compact than the lower surfaces, while all varieties were capable of serving as a physical barrier to the invasion of bacteria. The growth of fibroblasts demonstrated that the lower surfaces of BNC membranes exhibited biocompatibility superior to that of the upper surfaces. In vivo analysis indicated that, of all samples, wounds treated with the BNC membrane synthesized by DHU-WX-1 displayed the greatest wound repair efficacy. The results indicate that BNC biosynthesized by different strains displayed different wound healing effectiveness. Placing the lower surface of BNC membranes in contact with wounds, with the denser upper surface outward, satisfied the clinical requirements of a wound repair biomaterial.

Keywords: Bacterial nanocellulose; Biomaterial; Strain effect; Wound dressing; Wound healing.