Nisin-loaded gelatin microparticles for the enhanced bioactivity of bacterial nanocellulose

Hren, Maša (author), Trček, Janja (author), Šakanović, Aleksandra (author), Obradović, Hristina (author), Erdani-Kreft, Mateja (author), Hribernik, Silvo (author), Gorgieva, Selestina (author)

Bacterial nanocellulose (BnC) is of immense importance in medicine, although its lack of bioactivity present intriguing issue. We propose a method to modify BnC with gelatin and nisin biomolecules, and explore their synergistic effect on the antimicrobial activity. Gelatin microparticles (without/with nisin loading) with a size ~0.5 μm and ~1.3 μm were prepared by spray drying and stabilised by dehydrothermal treatment. Modified BnC-based membranes supported the formation of biologically relevant minerals and were non-cytotoxic to human gingival fibroblast cells (HGF). The presence of gelatin microparticles improved the viability of HGF by approximately 20 %, due to the effect of gelatin alone, independent of the addition of nisin. BnC coated with a nisin/gelatin solution reduces the viability of HGF by about 20 %, but this negative effect is not observed by nisin coated gelatin microparticles. The cell viability of BnC membranes was above 90 % in both porcine and human urothelial cells. The antimicrobial activity study confirmed an inhibitory effect of membranes modified with nisin-coated microparticles or a gelatin/nisin solution against Staphylococcus aureus at a non-cytotoxic nisin dose (150 μg/mL). The study demonstrates the structural effects of gelatin and gelatin/nisin mixtures on the bioactivity of BnC and provides a rationale for the modification procedure.

• Language: English
• Keywords: bacterial nanocellulose, gelatin, nisin, spray-drying, antimicrobial function, bioactivity
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 15 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 305, pt. 1, art. 141203
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167802
• UDC: 577:543.2/.9
• ISSN on article: 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.141203
• COBISS.SI-ID: 228411907
• Publication date in RUL: 12.03.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of biological macromolecules
• Shortened title: Int. j. biol. macromol.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1879-0003
• COBISS.SI-ID: 107163139

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: bakterijska nanoceluloza, želatina, nizin, sušenje z razprševanjem, protimikrobno delovanje, bioaktivnost