Long-term durability antibacterial microcapsules with plant-derived Chinese nutgall and their applications in wound dressing

Abstract

AbstractWound infection is a significant burden on public health. Most present antibacterial agents are typically toxic and devoid of long-term durability. We reported an antimicrobial microcapsule with Chinese nutgall (CN) encapsulated, which was a plant-derived extraction. It is biocompatible and has been used in traditional medicine systems. Sodium alginate (SA) and chitosan worked as shells. The promise of the design is to adopt biocompatible natural polymers and electrostatic attractive chitosan and SA form stable shells to keep long-term release of CN. The results exhibited microcapsules with integrated performance of biocompatibility, long-term durability (inhibition rate of 98.99% against S. aureus after 12 h and 100% after 12 h, 99.61% against E. coli after 6 h and 100% after 12 h), high antibacterial efficacy (with S. aureus inhibition zones of 7.67 mm and E. coli inhibition zones of 5.27 mm) and ease of storage (-20°C for more than 60 h). Their successful fabrication may provide new insights into application of traditional cotton gauze in a sustainable and multifunctional form.