Sustainable Janus lignin-based polyurethane biofoams with robust antibacterial activity and long-term biofilm resistance.

Int J Biol Macromol

Key Laboratory of Bio-based Polymeric Materials Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Laboratory of Polymers and Composites, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China. Electronic address:

Published: January 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Conventional antibiotics are becoming less effective due to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, known as "superbugs," prompting the need for new antibacterial solutions.
  • Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are popular for their antimicrobial properties, but their long-term use poses health risks and environmental toxicity, necessitating a reduction in their use.
  • Researchers have developed composite biofoams using polylysine and a minimal amount of Ag NPs that effectively kill bacteria while also promoting wound healing, making them beneficial for treating infected wounds in clinical settings.

Article Abstract

Conventional antibiotic therapies have been becoming less efficient due to increasingly, and sometimes fully, antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, sometimes known as "superbacteria" or "superbugs." Thus, novel antibacterial materials to effectively inhibit or kill bacteria are crucial for humanity. As a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been the most widely commercialized of biomedical materials. However, long-term use of significant amounts of Ag NPs can be potentially harmful to human health through a condition known as argyria, in addition to being toxic to many environmental systems. It is, thus, highly necessary to reduce the amount of Ag NPs employed in medical treatments while also ensuring maintenance of antimicrobial properties, in addition to reducing the overall cost of treatment for humanitarian utilization. For this purpose, naturally sourced antimicrobial polylysine (PL) is used to partially replace Ag NPs within the materials composition. Accordingly, a series of PL, Ag NPs, and lignin-based polyurethane (LPU) composite biofoams (LPU-PL-Ag) were prepared. These proposed composite biofoams, containing at most only 2 % PL and 0.03 % Ag NPs, significantly inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria within 1 h and caused irreversibly destructive bactericidal effects. Additionally, with a layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the surface, PDMS-LPU-PL(2 %)-Ag(0.03 %) can effectively prevent bacterial adhesion with a clearance rate of about 70 % for both bacterial biofilms within three days and a growth rate of more than 80 % for mouse fibroblasts NIH 3 T3. These lignin-based polyurethane biofoam dressings, with shorter antiseptic sterilization times and broad-spectrum antibacterial effects, are extremely advantageous for infected wound treatment and healing in clinical use.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128088DOI Listing

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