Preparation of bacterial cellulose containing silk sericin for wound dressing application

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) containing silk sericin, a novel wound dressing, was successfully developed. It is known that silk sericin, a glue-like protein in raw silk fibers, is useful for skin care applications due to its biocompatibility as well as antioxidant, moisturizing capabilities and promoting in wound healing process. However, pure sericin is quite fragile and difficult to fabricate. In this study, sericin, extracted from silk cocoons, was incorporated into BC pellicles. The BC pellicles, produced by Acetobacter xylinum, have an ultrafine Nano-fibril network structure, making it function like a hydrogel. Accordingly, BC is a good candidate for possible use as a wound dressing because of its capability to absorb wound exudate and provide a moist environment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Kjeldahl analysis, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation indicated the presence of sericin in BC. The incorporation of sericin into BC resulted in the increase of water absorption capacity. The release rate of sericin and antioxidant activity increased with increasing sericin content in BC. The BC sample with higher sericin content exhibited a lower water vapor transmission rate, indicating that sericin could provide and maintain a moist environment. Moreover, BC containing sericin was non-cytotoxic to human dermal fibroblast cell lines.