Biocompatible Zn‐Phthalocyanine/Gelatin Nanofiber Membrane for Antibacterial Therapy

Abstract

In this study, the fabrication and characterization ofZn-phthalocyanine/gelatin nanofibrous membranes is reported using theelectrospinning technique. The membranes exhibit a homogeneousdistribution of Zn-phthalocyanine within the gelatin matrix, maintaining thestructural integrity and photosensitizing properties of the phthalocyanine.Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the electrospun fibers possessdiameters ranging results as 100–300, 200–700, and 300–800 nm for Gel,ZnPc/Gel 1, and ZnPc/Gel 2, respectively. The addition of ZnPc does notdecrease the hydrophilicity of the Gel membrane. The nanofibrousmembranes showed good cytocompatibility, as indicated by the high viabilityof Vero cells exposed to membrane extracts. Furthermore, these compositessupported cell adhesion and proliferation on their surfaces. The twoZn-phthalocyanine/gelatin nanofiber formulations exhibited significantantimicrobial activity toward Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) and StaphylococcusAureus (S. Aureus) under visible light illumination, achieving reductions of 3.4log10 and 3.6 log10 CFU mL−1 for E. coli, and 3.9 log10 and 4.1 log10 CFU mL−1for S. aureus. These results demonstrate the potential ofZn-phthalocyanine/gelatin nanofibrous membranes as effective agents inantibacterial photodynamic therapy, providing a promising solution to controlbacterial infections and antibiotic resistance.