"An antimicrobial wound dressing was prepared by impregnating silver nanoparticles into the bacteria cellulose produced by Acetobacter xylinum (strain TISTR 975), by immersing bacterial cellulose in silver nitrate solution. Sodium borohydride was then used to reduce the absorbed silver ion (Ag+) inside of bacterial cellulose to form metallic silver nanoparticles. The red shift and broadening of the optical absorption band were observed when the mole ratio of sodium borohydride to silver nitrate was decreased, indicating the increase in particle size and particle size distribution of silver nanoparticles. The freeze-dried silver nanoparticle-impregnated bacterial cellulose exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against both gram-negative (E. coli) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria."

Source: Maneerung T, Tokura S, Rujiravanit R. Impregnation of silver nanoparticles into bacterial cellulose for antimicrobial wound dressing. Carbohydr Polym 2008;72(1):43-51.