Bioactive alginate fibers: the antibacterial potential of Cinnamomum verum extracts

• Efficient alginate fiber formation using an inverted nozzle-pressurized spinning method with a CaCl 2 coagulation bath. • Developed bioactive alginate fibers incorporating Cinnamomum verum extracts to enhance antibacterial functionality. • Cinnamon-incorporated alginate fibers maintain high cell viability, ensuring biocompatibility. • Cinnamon-incorporated alginate fibers exhibit effective antimicrobial activity against common bacterial strains. • Excellent water absorption capacity promotes their potential uses, particularly in wound healing. This study explores the development of alginate fibers incorporated with Cinnamomum verum extracts as a novel antimicrobial biomaterial, leveraging their natural origin, sustainability, biocompatibility, and gel-forming capabilities. Using a modified nozzle-pressurized spinning technique, efficient fiber formation was achieved, with an average diameter of approximately 10 µm. To enhance functionality, Cinnamomum verum extracts (cinnamon bark essential oil and cinnamaldehyde) were incorporated into the alginate matrix to create cinnamon-alginate fibrous patches. In vitro cell viability assays demonstrated substantial biocompatibility of alginate-based materials with cell viability reaching up to 94 %. Antibacterial efficacy tests against gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains revealed significant bacterial growth inhibition of at least log 1 reduction in bacterial count and a clear dose-dependent response. This study underscores the potential of cinnamon-incorporated alginate fibers as sustainable, antimicrobial biomaterials for healthcare applications. These findings mark an important step toward integrating natural materials into advanced biomaterial design, contributing to the growing field of sustainable healthcare solutions.