The purpose of this study was to fabricate an antibacterial hydrocolloid dressing for the management of infected wounds with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Among hospitalized patients, infections caused by MDR bacteria are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in burn units. A hydrocolloid dressing was fabricated using pectin, gelatin, and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as well as 16, 32, and 64 mg/ml of CM11 antibacterial peptide. After the characterization of the hydrocolloid dressing, its antibacterial activity against MDR strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli was investigated. The optimal cross-linking duration using glutaraldehyde vapor was three hours, resulting in a degradation of 28 % after 48 hours. SEM showed the uniform structure of the fabricated dressings. The Young's modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break were 19 kPa, 0.041 MPa, and 180 %, respectively. The water absorption and water vapor transmission rates were 149 % and 464 g/m2/day. The peptide release assay showed that more than 25 % of the peptide was released during 24 hours. The antibacterial activity of the hydrocolloid was dose-dependent, with the highest inhibitory effect at a concentration of 64 µg/ml. Based on the time-killing assay, the peptide in a dose-dependent manner caused a decrease in CFU of the three bacteria after the first 6 hours compared to the control (without treatment) and the dressing without peptide (p ≤ 0.05). However, at a concentration of 64 µg/ml, this reduction was present for up to 24 hours. The results showed that the antibacterial hydrocolloid dressing can be considered as a wound dressing candidate to deal with wound infections.
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