Bamboo Biomass-Derived Multifunctional Cellulose-PVA/CuCl2 Hydrogel Films for Antibacterial and Potential Wound-Healing Applications

Abstract

Bamboo biomass is an abundant and sustainable source of cellulose; however, its utilization remains limited due to the presence of lignin and hemicellulose. In this study, cellulose was successfully extracted from bamboo through chemical delignification and purification, followed by comparative characterization with commercial cellulose using FTIR, XRD, TGA, and CHNS analyses. Copper chloride (CuCl2)-incorporated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/cellulose hydrogels were fabricated via freeze−thawing and lyophilization to obtain porous hydrogel sheets with enhanced antibacterial properties. The prepared hydrogels were characterized by SEM, FTIR, swelling studies, contact angle measurements, and TGA. Mechanical properties evaluated by universal tensile testing revealed that the pristine PVA/cellulose film exhibited a tensile strength of 24.28 MPa, an elongation at break of 9.2%, and a tensile modulus of 1100.8 MPa. Incorporation of 0.5 g CuCl2 increased the tensile modulus to 1520.4 MPa, indicating improved rigidity, while 0.75 g CuCl2 maintained comparable tensile strength (24.10 MPa). Higher CuCl2 loading (1 g) reduced tensile strength and modulus due to possible structural defects and salt aggregation. Antimicrobial studies demonstrated negligible activity for the neat PVA/cellulose film, whereas CuCl2-containing hydrogels exhibited concentration-dependent inhibition against bacterial growth, with the 1 g CuCl2 formulation showing the strongest activity against Staphylococcus aureus. These findings highlight the potential of CuCl2-modified PVA/cellulose hydrogels as sustainable biomaterials for antimicrobial wound dressing and biomedical applications.