Fabrication and Characterization of Oxidizedbacterial Cellulose Membrane as a Potential Hemostatic Dressing

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in using bacterial cellulose for biomedical applications thanks to its higher purity and more desirable properties. Regarding hemostatic application, however, most studies on NO2-based oxidized bacterial cellulose (OBC) have focused on its use as a coating agent on another polymer substrate. In this study, we aimed to fabricate a hemostatic dressing of OBC itself by oxidizing an intact bacterial cellulose pellicle and investigating different reaction parameters, including pellicle dryness and oxidation period. Macroscopic observation showed that partially dried pellicles maintained better structural integrity than completely dried pellicles. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirmed the change in all OBC samples’ chemical composition through the carboxyl groups. Although scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed no significant difference in cellulose fiber morphology between OBC membranes and pristine membranes, the tensile strength of all OBC samples was lower than the unmodified one. The reaction time of 24 h yielded the highest tensile strength among OBC samples and satisfied the required range of carboxyl content of 16–24% to impart hemostatic capability. The results suggest that the OBC membrane is a potential biomaterial for wound dressing applications.