Magnetron Sputtered Carboxymethyl Chitosan Nonwovens as Antibacterial and Exudate Management Dressings

ABSTRACT Excessive exudate within the wound can readily result in fluid retention and bacterial infection. Carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) nonwoven can effectively absorb excess wound exudate, providing a moist environment for wound healing. However, CMCS shows poor antimicrobial activity in the neutral or weakly alkaline environment, and the absorbent gel property of CMCS makes its wet antibacterial modification very difficult. Therefore, Zn‐coated CMCS dressings (Zn@CMCS) with antibacterial and exudate management properties were prepared by template‐assisted magnetron sputtering. The Zn 5 @CMCS dressings with a sputtering time of 5 min have excellent air permeability (> 6000 mm/s), high swelling degree (~2500%), and superior gel transition properties. Moreover, Zn 5 @CMCS exhibits significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . Additionally, benefiting from the low Zn coating area (~18%), Zn 5 @CMCS shows excellent cytocompatibility. This study provides insights into the nonwet antimicrobial modification of dressings with absorbent gel transition properties.