BIOCOMPATIBLE AND ANTIMICROBIAL CELLULOSE ACETATE NANOFIBER MEMBRANE FROM BANANA (MUSA ACUMINATA X BALBISIANA) PSEUDOSTEM FIBERS FOR WOUND HEALING AND TISSUE ENGINEERING

Abstract

Electrospun nanofiber membranes play a vital role in the biomedical field, especially for wound healing and tissue engineering applications. This study explored the development of biocompatible and antibacterial cellulose acetate electrospun nanofiber membranes prepared from banana pseudostem fibers. Cellulose rich dissolving pulp from alkali treated banana pseudostem fibers was subjected to esterification reaction to produce cellulose acetate. The synthesized cellulose acetate and chlorhexidine (CHX), an antimicrobial agent, were dissolved in 2:1 acetone:N,N-dimethylacetamide solvent and subsequently electrospun into a nanofiber membrane. FT-IR spectroscopy of the nanofiber confirmed the presence of cellulose acetate and the successful incorporation of CHX into the nanofibers. SEM imaging showed that the fiber diameter of the nanofiber membrane ranged from 200 nm to 300 nm. The MTT cytotoxicity assay and antimicrobial assay of nanofibers revealed that the nanofiber membrane with chlorhexidine concentration of 1.0 w/v was the optimum formulation as it achieved potent antimicrobial activity (zone of inhibition (ZOI): Escherichia coli – 18.38 mm and Staphylococcus aureus – 22.51 mm), while exhibiting low cytotoxicity to human intestinal epithelial cell line, HIEC-6 (percent cell inhibition: 13.07% and IC50: >100 μg/mL). The results indicated successful preparation of biocompatible and antimicrobial nanofiber membranes from banana pseudostem fiber with potential application in wound healing and tissue engineering.