Bacterial Cellulose—Adaptation of a Nature-Identical Material to the Needs of Advanced Chronic Wound Care

Abstract

Modern wound treatment calls for hydroactive dressings. Among the variety of materials that have entered the field of wound care in recent years, the carbohydrate polymer bacterial cellulose (BC) represents one of the most promising candidates as the biomaterial features a high moisture-loading and donation capacity, mechanical stability, moldability, and breathability. Although BC has already gained increasing relevance in the treatment of burn wounds, its potential and clinical performance for “chronic wound” indications have not yet been sufficiently investigated. This article focuses on experimental and clinical data regarding the application of BC within the indications of chronic, non-healing wounds, especially venous and diabetic ulcers. A recent clinical observation study in a chronic wound setting clearly demonstrated its wound-cleansing properties and ability to induce healing in stalling wounds. Furthermore, the material parameters of BC dressings obtained through the static cultivation of Komagataeibacter xylinus were investigated for the first time in standardized tests and compared to various advanced wound-care products. Surprisingly, a free swell absorptive capacity of a BC dressing variant containing 97% moisture was found, which was higher than that of alginate or even hydrofiber dressings. We hypothesize that the fine-structured, open porous network and the resulting capillary forces are among the main reasons for this unexpected result.

In situ Formation of Polymer Microparticles in Bacterial Nanocellulose Using Alternative and Sustainable Solvents to Incorporate Lipophilic Drugs

“…To simulate the fluid-releasing capabilities of the loaded BNC more closely to the physiological situation, the amount of liquid delivered from the BNC fleece to a gelatin gel [ 42 ] was determined ( Figure 5 b). Qualitatively, as shown in Figure S3 , all gels were visibly swollen at the contact surface to all BNC samples after 48 h incubation.…”

“…Native and PLGA-loaded BNC were investigated for their fluid-releasing capabilities using a method previously reported by Zahel et al [ 42 ]. Briefly, an aqueous solution containing 142 mmol L −1 sodium chloride as well as 2.5 mmol L −1 calcium chloride (both Carl Roth) was prepared.…”

Exopolysaccharides Producing Bacteria: A Review

“…In the past five years, there have been many interesting, detailed reviews describing BC production, properties, and applications [43,65,68,[71][72][73][74]76,[166][167][168][169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179]. BC has great potential to be used in medicine [2,3,43,[71][72][73][74][166][167][168][169][170][171][172]179] as a biomaterial for wound dressing [180][181][182][183][184][185][186], tissue engineering [187][188][189][190][191]…”

Exploring Microemulsion Systems for the Incorporation of Glucocorticoids into Bacterial Cellulose: A Novel Approach for Anti-Inflammatory Wound Dressings

“…In this respect, not only the high biocompatibility, mechanical stability and gas permeability are of particular advantage [ 23 , 24 ]. Clinical data have shown that wound dressings based on BC are able to relieve pain, promote re-epithelization and absorb wound exudate while providing a moist wound milieu [ 25 ]. In particular, the removal of plaque and fibrous tissue via autolytic debridement is significantly enhanced by the moisture donated from BC-based wound dressings and enables successful wound bed preparation [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…Clinical data have shown that wound dressings based on BC are able to relieve pain, promote re-epithelization and absorb wound exudate while providing a moist wound milieu [ 25 ]. In particular, the removal of plaque and fibrous tissue via autolytic debridement is significantly enhanced by the moisture donated from BC-based wound dressings and enables successful wound bed preparation [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Furthermore, the large surface area and water-holding capacity enable the uptake and release of active compounds, even with the possibility of controlling release kinetics [ 23 , 28 ].…”