Self-Assembly Stereo-Specific Synthesis of Silver Phosphate Microparticles on Bacterial Cellulose Membrane Surface For Antimicrobial Applications

In situ self-assembly stereo-specific synthesis of silver phosphate (AgP) microparticles (MPs) in one side bacterial cellulose (BC) membrane surface and loading of ciprofloxacin provides BC scaffolds with a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The BC membranes containing AgP-MPs can be loaded > 5 times with ciprofloxacin compared to naked BC. The reuse of ciprofloxacin-loaded AgP-BC scaffolds in fresh cultures of both tested microbes showed high inhibition haloes without any signal of microbial resistance or scaffold activity decay after 30 days of assays. Additionally, microbial biofilms of E. coli and S. aureus were mostly killed by AgP-BC scaffolds loaded with ciprofloxacin in 1 h. The biophysical characterization of the hybrid AgP-BC scaffolds was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrational spectroscopy (FTIR), calorimetric techniques and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM images display AgP-MP spheroid structures with a high homogenous distribution on BC scaffold surfaces. The properties of the novel AgP-BC matrices are very promissory for biomedical applications, like a therapeutic dressing patches for the prevention and treatment of microbial infections in skin wounds and burns.