Advanced Foam Dressing of Modified Graphene Nanoparticles Loaded in Bacterial Cellulose/Calcium Alginate Matrix

Patients dealing with chronic wounds frequently experience persistent pain and a heightened risk of infection due to microbial contamination. To improve the quality of life for these patients while reducing treatment duration and costs, advanced wound dressings are being developed. This study aimed to develop a wound dressing from natural bacterial-derived cellulose fibers (BC) and calcium alginate (A), which were functionalized with silver-containing graphene oxide nanoparticles (GOAg). Carbon-based nanomaterials, such as GOAg, are recognized for their antimicrobial properties, noncytotoxic nature, and their strong ability to absorb exudate, which is crucial for controlling infections in dermal lesions. In vitro testing revealed that the BC-A-GOAg dressing possessed optimized characteristics, including a uniform distribution of GOAg nanoparticles within the polymeric blend of BC and A. When in direct contact with bacterial cells in suspension, the BC-A-GOAg dressing exhibited 74% antimicrobial activity against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and 59% against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> . Additionally, the antimicrobial BC-A-GOAg demonstrated no significant cytotoxicity to mouse fibroblast cells (L-929), maintaining 90.8% ± 5.2% cell viability after 48 h of exposure. Furthermore, the in vitro assessments showed that the BC-A-GOAg dressing could inhibit the activity of the myeloperoxidase enzyme, highlighting its effectiveness in reducing inflammation.