Development of Sustainable Bioactive Glass-Ceramic/Gelatin/Collagen/Carboxymethyl Cellulose Biomedical Dressings via Tape Casting

Chronic wounds require dressings that actively manage moisture, control infection, and support tissue repair, creating a demand for sustainable and effective scaffolds manufacturing. Although bioactive glass-based composites and gelatin/collagen systems have shown promise for biomaterials manufacturing, the development of bioactive dressings for wound care by tape casting remain underexplored. In this research, tape casting is used to develop bioactive and biodegradable dressings by incorporating bioactive glass (BG) -ceramic microparticles. Gelatin (GEL), collagen (COL), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) are used as sustainable additives in the tape casting process, and genipin (GNP) as a natural crosslinking agent to replace the sintering process. The BG-ceramic suspensions are optimized using a Design of Experiments (DoE) with GEL and COL concentrations of 0, 3.25, 5, 6.5, and 10% (w/w). Among the tested formulations, a gelatin-based tape (BG-100) cast at 0.08 m/s produced porous, continuous, and easily handled dressings with a thickness of 0.5 ± 0.2 mm. Then, the dried BG-100 samples were crosslinked with genipin (BG-100-GNP). Genipin crosslinking increased toughness from 2.29 to 4.96 J/m³, elongation at break from 0.95 to 3.15%, and the contact angle decreased from 61.53 ± 2.79° to 0°, consistent with improved wettability relevant to wound contact. The crosslinked dressing was non-cytotoxic to L929 fibroblasts in indirect assay, inhibited Staphylococcus aureus growth in 24 h, and showed about 60% mass loss over 7 weeks. These results demonstrate that genipin-crosslinked bioactive glass-ceramic-based dressings produced by tape casting represent a rapid, sustainable, and promising platform for further support soft tissue regeneration and wound healing.