Development of bacterial cellulose-based nanocomposites incorporated with lignin and MgO as a novel antimicrobial wound-dressing material

The utilization of bacterial cellulose (BC) as wound-dressing material is an attractive alternative due to its unique characteristics, such as its biocompatibility, high water-holding capacity (WHC), and significant mechanical properties. In the current work, a novel antimicrobial wound-dressing material made from BC-lignin-MgO nanocomposite has been proposed, which has not yet been reported, to the best of our knowledge. For this, BC (control) and BC-lignin were produced by Gluconacetobacter kombuchae. After that, BC-lignin-MgO nanocomposites were synthesized by employing in-situ co-precipitation wet chemical method. For this, lignin was extracted from rice straw using the alkali treatment method. All the samples were characterized and compared with each other on the basis of morphological, thermal, mechanical, WHC, and antimicrobial behavior. The formation of nanocomposites was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the presence of lignin and MgO in the nanofibrillar BC network; X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to investigate the effects on crystallinity. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed the reduced thermostability of nanocomposites as compared to control, but it was still sufficiently thermostable. The nanocomposite possessed strong mechanical properties and high WHC, though they showed a slight decrease in tensile strength and WHC, as compared to control. BC-lignin-MgO nanocomposite exhibited good antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms, such as E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans. Thus, the proposed BC-lignin-MgO nanocomposite owned the desirable characteristics, which made it a potential wound-dressing material.