Harnessing the potential of antibiotic functionalized coir nanocellulose in sustainable wound management

Coir-nanocellulose (CNC) infused with antibiotics, is presented as a promising candidate for antimicrobial wound care applications. Nanocellulose was extracted from coconut husk fibers through alkali treatment and acid hydrolysis along with steam explosion. The obtained cellulose nanofibers exhibited diameters in the range of 50-100 nm with a zeta potential −37.2 ± 2.9 mV indicating the electrostatic stability of the dispersion and exhibited characteristic peaks corresponding to nanocellulose. The fluid absorption capacity of CNC was in the range of 1.45-3.08 g/g. Two broad-spectrum antibiotics; ciprofloxacin and gentamicin were independently infused into CNC to prepare ciprofloxacin loaded coir-nanocellulose (C-CNC) and gentamicin loaded coir-nanocellulose (G-CNC) respectively. The cumulative drug release profile indicated a burst release of 70.8 ± 3.4% for C-CNC and 64.3 ± 2.9% for G-CNC, both of which got stabilized within 10 h and the drug release kinetics followed Korsmeyer-Peppas model. Significant inhibitory effect on the tested bacterial strains was observed for both C-CNC and G-CNC which exhibited zone of inhibitions in the range of 2.3 ± 0.011 to 2.8 ± 0.045 cm for C-CNC and from 2.4 ± 0.031 to 2.8 ± 0.054 cm for G-CNC respectively and it was found proportional with the drug concentration in the sample. CNC with and without drug incorporation is found to be cytocompatible as indicated by MTT assay with viability >80% at 48 h. Results indicate that antibiotics functionalized CNC would be a viable approach for developing innovative wound care products with a unique combination of antibacterial functionality and inherent cytocompatibility.