Evaluating the antibacterial properties of chitosan fibres embedded with copper ions for wound dressing applications

Chitosan is a natural polymer that is well known for its inherent antimicrobial ability and natural healing properties and hence it has been developed into fibres that are used for wound dressing applications. To increase its antimicrobial potency, these fibres are treated with copper sulphate. In a wound environment, copper ions have potent antimicrobial abilities due to their propensity to bind with proteins and ability to produce hydrogen peroxides. In this article, copper-treated chitosan fibres of different concentrations have been tested and analysed to determine the most effective antimicrobial dose for potential wound care dressings. Selected common skin microflora, i.e. Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus, have been used to test the chitosan–copper combinations. The analysis, based on the test methods of zone of inhibition, spectrophotometry and plating technique, has shown that copper concentration of 0.3 gm/ml was highly effective against the three bacteria and could potentially be most suitable formulation for wound dressing applications.