Study on Photocatalytic Antibacterial and Sustained-Release Properties of Cellulose/TiO2/β-CD Composite Hydrogel

Abstract

A novel cellulose/TiO2/β-CD hydrogel with high photocatalytic antibacterial activity and sustained release of drug was prepared. TiO2 sol with a diameter of about 9 nm in this hydrogel was the photoantibacterial agent. β-CD can significantly enhance photoantibacterial activity and the sustained-release effect of this hydrogel. The structure and property of this hydrogel composite were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were selected as model bacteria to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the composite hydrogel under natural light irradiation and darkness, respectively. The in vitro release experiment used curcumin as a model drug in PBS buffer solution. The influence of β-CD on the antibacterial activity and sustained-release effect of the composite hydrogel was investigated. The results showed that the hydrogel composite presented a good photoantibacterial property, while the antibacterial activity can be neglected under the condition of no light. The complete release of curcumin from the composite was achieved after 120 h. Therefore, the hydrogel system has the characteristics of low cost and high effect, which could be used for an antibacterial sustained-release material.