Exploring the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of bacterial cellulose-cerium oxide nanoparticles hydrogel: Design, characterization and biomedical properties.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a promising natural polymer prized for its biocompatibility, microporosity, transparency, conformability, elasticity, and ability to maintain a moist wound environment while absorbing exudates. These attributes make BC an attractive material in biomedical applications, particularly in skin tissue repair. However, its lack of inherent antimicrobial activity limits its effectiveness. In this study, BC was enhanced by incorporating cerium (IV)-oxide (CeO ₂ ) nanoparticles, resulting in a series of bacterial cellulose-CeO ₂ (BC-CeO ₂ ) composite materials. Characterization via FESEM, XRD, and FTIR confirmed the successful synthesis of the composites. Notably, BC-CeO ₂ -1 exhibited no cytotoxic or genotoxic effects on peripheral blood lymphocytes, and it additionally protected cells from genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in H ₂ O ₂ -treated cultures. Redox parameters in blood plasma samples displayed concentration and time-dependent trends in PAB and LPP assays. The incorporation of CeO ₂ nanoparticles also bolstered antimicrobial activity, expanding the potential biomedical applications of these composites.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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