In vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of plasma-modified polyethylene terephthalate nonwoven dressing with aqueous extract of Rhizome Atractylodes macrocephala

- Aqueous extract from an herb - Rhizome Atractylodes macrocephala (RAM) was obtained.
- Herbal antibacterial dressing with RAM extract was fabricated with aid of plasma.
- RAM extract was grafted onto PET nonwoven successfully from SEM and FTIR analysis.
- Improved antibacterial activity of RAM dressing after plasma over acrylic acid.
- RAM dressings showed broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy and non-cytotoxicity.

In this study, a natural and non-cytotoxic antibacterial dressing containing aqueous extract of Rhizome Atractylodes macrocephala (RAM), which has been widely used in traditional herbal medicine and documented with antibacterial activities in literatures, was developed by aid of the extraction technique, nonwoven substrates and plasma-induced grafting technology. The effectiveness of these herbal antibacterial dressings with different treatment were investigated through the assays of grafting yield, SEM, FTIR, antibacterial activities and cytotoxicity. The remarkable grafting of RAM extracts onto PET nonwovens after plasma treatment, with the best of 51.24%, revealed that the surface property of PET substrates were improved effectively, and the successful grafting can also be confirmed from SEM and FTIR results by the appearance of new peaks associated with the presence of polysaccharides and flavonoids in aqueous extracts. The plasma treatment further increased the broad-spectrum antibacterial effects of PET nonwoven dressings containing RAM extract with the best inhibition width of 12.84 mm and 16.81 mm against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, which was no less than ones of commercial antibacterial dressings.

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