Promising low cost antimicrobial composite material based on bacterial cellulose and polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride

•Bacterial cellulose was impregnated with polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride.•Polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride forms hydrogen bonds with cellulose.•AFM images reveal the formation of an interconnected network of fibers bundles.•Bacterial cellulose composites showed excellent antimicrobial efficacy.•Biocide releasing behavior depend on water content in bacterial cellulose matrix.

To elaborate a new antimicrobial bacterial cellulose (BC) based material, the porous structure of BC has been combined with polymeric biocide polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG-Cl). A sufficient saturation of the BC matrix with PHMG-Cl and the formation of hydrogen bonds between chloride ions of the polymeric biocide and the hydroxyl groups of BC was confirmed by FT-IR analysis. The formation of an interconnected network of fiber bundles within the cellulose-based composite after the introduction of PHMG-Cl was revealed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The modified PHMG-Cl biocide bacterial cellulose film specimens showed excellent efficacy against multidrug resistant strains Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia IMBG233, the phytopatogenic Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris IMBG299 and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, as well as yeast. Moreover, the introduction of PHMG-Cl also prevented a biofilm formation by a model association of pro- and eukaryotic microorganisms and stopped de novo cellulose synthesis in the existed biofilm. The biocide release rate from BC matrix was shown to depend on the moisture content of the composite films. PHMG-Cl-embedded cellulose is therefore a new formulation of biocide which could be further used for wounds healing.

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