Electrospun Nanocomposites Containing Cellulose and Its Derivatives Modified with Specialized Biomolecules for an Enhanced Wound Healing

Abstract

Wound healing requires careful, directed, and effective therapies to prevent infections and accelerate tissue regeneration. In light of these demands, active biomolecules with antibacterial properties and/or healing capacities have been functionalized onto nanostructured polymeric dressings and their synergistic effect examined. In this work, various antibiotics, nanoparticles, and natural extract-derived products that were used in association with electrospun nanocomposites containing cellulose, cellulose acetate and different types of nanocellulose (cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils, and bacterial cellulose) have been reviewed. Renewable, natural-origin compounds are gaining more relevance each day as potential alternatives to synthetic materials, since the former undesirable footprints in biomedicine, the environment, and the ecosystems are reaching concerning levels. Therefore, cellulose and its derivatives have been the object of numerous biomedical studies, in which their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and, most importantly, sustainability and abundance, have been determinant. A complete overview of the recently produced cellulose-containing nanofibrous meshes for wound healing applications was provided. Moreover, the current challenges that are faced by cellulose acetate- and nanocellulose-containing wound dressing formulations, processed by electrospinning, were also enumerated.

Keywords: antimicrobial surfaces; cellulose; cellulose acetate; nanocellulose; nanofibrous dressings; tissue regeneration.

Figure 1

Structure of different wound dressings (adapted from [11], with permission from Elsevier, 2020).

Figure 2

a) TEM image of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs); b) SEM image of cellulose nanowhiskers (CNCs) that has been deagglomerated; and, c) SEM image of BC (adapted from [77] with permission from Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020).

Figure 3

Three modes of physical drug loading on the surface of electrospun nanofibers (reproduced from [194], with permission from Elsevier 2020).