Bioapplications of Bacterial Cellulose Polymers Conjugated with Resveratrol for Epithelial Defect Regeneration

Abstract

Excellent wound dressing is essential for effective wound repair and regeneration. However, natural polymeric skin substitutes often lack mechanical strength and hydrophilicity. One way to overcome this limitation is to use biodegradable polymers with high mechanical strength and low skin-irritation induction in wet environments. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an attractive polymer for medical applications; unlike synthetic polymers, it is biodegradable and renewable and has a strong affinity for materials containing hydroxyl groups. Therefore, we conjugated it with resveratrol (RSV), which has a 4′-hydroxyl group and exhibits good biocompatibility and no cytotoxicity. We synthesized BC scaffolds with immobilized RSV and characterized the resulting BC/RSV scaffold with scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. We found that RSV was released from the BC in vitro after ~10 min, and immunofluorescence staining showed that BC was highly biocompatible and regenerated epithelia. Additionally, Masson’s trichrome staining showed that the scaffolds preserved the normal collagen-bundling pattern and induced re-epithelialization in defective rat epidermis. These results indicated that RSV-conjugated BC created a biocompatible environment for stem cell attachment and growth and promoted epithelial regeneration during wound healing.

Development of Novel Microenvironments for Promoting Enhanced Wound Healing

“…P(3HB/4HB) combined with bacterial cellulose exhibited vastly improved wound healing by day 14 and when combined with fibroblasts, the wound was nearly completely sealed by this time. These results demonstrate that bacterial cellulose is a viable natural scaffolding material for wound healing that can exhibit loading potential for advanced therapeutics [109,110].…”

“…It has recently been combined with copolymer P(3HB/4HB), a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) derived from microbes and having similar qualities to bacterial cellulose itself, to develop scaffolds for managing burns [109]. It was also recently conjugated with resveratrol, a noncytotoxic naturally derived chemical that was thought to reduce inflammation and stimulate angiogenesis [110]. Both studies demonstrated favorable results with the use of bacterial cellulose as a scaffolding material, but according to in vivo experimental results in mouse models, the resveratrol-loaded bacterial cellulose scaffold may have inhibited wound reepithelialization compared with the scaffold alone by day 14, with 10% of the wound remaining without resveratrol and 20% remaining with resveratrol.…”

Engineering Bacterial Cellulose for Diverse Biomedical Applications

“…In this study, the skin tissue healed with minimal complications and was found to promote cell proliferation during wound healing [103]. Suspension of BC with TiO 2 solution to enhance its anti-microbial capability has also been used to accelerate wound healing rate in vivo [104] as has resveratrol which has been shown to promote anti-inflammatory responses and enhance revascularization when incorporated with BC proving to accelerate skin regeneration [105]. The integration of stem cells with combinations of BC and acrylic acid composite scaffolds have proven to provide a moderately successful solution for full thickness dermal tissue wound healing [106].…”

Plant- vs. Bacterial-Derived Cellulose for Wound Healing: A Review

“…These special characteristics are the main reasons for the extensive use of BC in biomedical and clinical settings than those of PC. The positive outcomes of BC usage in wound healing have been confirmed through in vivo and in vitro testing [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 ], as described in Table 3 . For instance, Wen et al (2015) have shown the efficiency of BC when incorporated with silver sulfadiazine in wound healing, by using a Wistar rat model with a partial thickness of a burn wound [ 114 ].…”