Synthesis and characterization of cellulose, β-cyclodextrin, silk fibroin-based hydrogel containing copper-doped cobalt ferrite nanospheres and exploration of its biocompatibility

A novel multifunctional biocomposite scaffold based on cellulose (Cel) and β-cyclodextrin (β.CD) biopolymers modified with extracted silk fibroin (SF) as well as magnetic copper-doped cobalt ferrite (CuCoFe₂O₄) nanospheres has been developed. The hybrid scaffold was characterized by FE–SEM, TGA, FT–IR, and EDS techniques to demonstrate the core–shell morphology, thermal stability of the main structure, the chemical bonds as well as the good connections in the composite structure, and the good distribution of the particles in the formed structure, respectively. The Cel-β.CD/SF/CuCoFe₂O₄ biocomposite shows a cell viability above 84% in addition to 80% after three and seven days, respectively, and low hemolytic effect (below 3%), which confirms a high hemocompatibility of this hydrogel. Further, the antibacterial property of the biocomposite was identified from superficial P. aeruginosa biofilm formation prevention. Thus, developed biocompatible hydrogel shows suitable characteristics for a variety of biomedical applications. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].