Bioinspired multifunctional cellulose film: In situ bacterial capturing and killing for managing infected wounds.

Abstract

Bacterial infection of cutaneous wounds can easily lead to occurrence of chronic wounds and even more serious diseases. Therefore, multifunctional, biodegradable, and reusable wound dressings that can quickly manage wound infection and promote wound healing are urgently desired. Herein, inspired by the "capturing and killing" action of <i>Drosera peltata</i> Thunb., a biomimetic cellulose film was constructed to capture the bacteria (via the rough structure of the film) and kill them (via the combination of photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy) to promote wound tissue remodeling. The film (termed OBC-PR) was simply prepared by chemically crosslinking the oxidized bacterial cellulose (OBC) with polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHGH) and rose bengal (RB). Notably, it could effectively capture <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacterial cells with capture efficiencies of ∼99 % and ∼96 %, respectively, within 10 min. Furthermore, the in vivo experiments showed that OBC-PR could effectively promote the macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype and adequately induce the reconstruction of blood vessels and nerves, thus promoting wound healing. This study provides a potential direction for designing multifunctional wound dressings for managing infected skin wounds in the future.