Antibacterial activity of cellulose/chitosan green composite for wound healing

Abstract

Cellulosic antibacterial fibers have great importance in the manufacturing of healthcare products. In this research work, antibacterial hemp and bamboo fibers were selected for manufacturing two green composite for wound healing. The chitosan was selected to get gel formation and behave as carrier in the manufacturing of cellulosic/chitosan green composite. Moreover, a water-soluble levofloxacin was included to give a release of antibacterial properties. The hemp and bamboo fibers were cleaned and fiber-to-fiber separation was done with a manual comber machine. The chitosan was solubilized using acetic acid and stirred for 12 hours to get a completely clear and viscous gel. Afterward, powder ground hemp and bamboo fibers were separately poured into two separate beakers. Two different types of composites (hemp/chitosan) and Bamboo/chitosan were transferred into petri dishes and dried in the oven at 40⁰C for 24 hours.  The samples were loaded with a levofloxacin antimicrobial agent. Both composites (hemp/chitosan, and bamboo/chitosan) were characterized for surface morphology, structural changes and antimicrobial testing against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. It was analyzed that without levofloxacin both cellulose/chitosan composites resisted bacteria growth and did not show inhibition zone, but samples loaded with levofloxacin displayed good antibacterial activity and showed excellent zone of inhibition against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Futhermore, FTIR evidenced that there was no formation of cross linking composites, but composites were held together due to chitosan and fibers gel formation.