A reusable ionic liquid-grafted antibacterial cotton gauze wound dressing

Abstract Rapid and convenient treatment of wounds is urgently needed in daily life. It is very essential to finish the dressing and antibacterial treatment in one step. In this study, we developed a reusable ionic liquid-grafted antibacterial cotton gauze wound dressing using 1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, glycidyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate. The ionic liquid was grafted onto the surface of the cotton gauze through covalent bond to obtain antibacterial properties. The successful grafting was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The biocompatibility, antibacterial ability and wound healing properties of antibacterial cotton gauze were evaluated. The antibacterial cotton gauze exhibited effective antibacterial ability against Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Candida albicans ( C. albicans ), and they were not cytotoxic to L929 mouse fibroblasts. The reusability experiment showed that the antibacterial cotton gauze had good antibacterial activity even after three repeated antibacterial tests. In addition, the antibacterial cotton gauze effectively promoted skin wound recovery in a rat model. These results indicated that the antibacterial cotton gauze could be used in the biomedical field, especially as an antibacterial wound dressing. Graphical abstract