Cellulose nanofibers infused with pomegranate gold nanoparticles display antibacterial activity

This study investigated the antibacterial activity of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) impregnated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with pomegranate extract. The CNFs were obtained from cellulose extracted from coconut fiber. The pomegranate-AuNPs were characterized by UV-Vis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The cytotoxicity was analyzed by an MTT assay in murine fibroblasts (L929) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT). CNFs impregnated with pomegranate-AuNPs were characterized by TEM, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, ICP-MS and DLS, and the antibacterial activity was analyzed against the gram-positive strains: Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, and the gram-negative strains: Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, we show that CNFs impregnated with pomegranate-AuNPs form a stable, non-cytotoxic material with expressive antibacterial activity, as demonstrated by a reduction of between 60% and 99% in the number of S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa colonies. Therefore, the biohybrid material developed here, which is both inexpensive and easy to produce, shows considerable potential for antibacterial and industrial applications. [Display omitted] •Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were green-synthesized using pomegranate peel extract.•Coconut fiber-derived cellulose nanofibers (CNF) were infused with the pomegranate-AuNPs.•The CNF@AuNP biohybrid significantly reduced bacterial growth.•The CNF@AuNP biohybrid displayed low citotoxicity.•The biohybrid material shows potential for antibacterial and industrial uses.