*Article* **Development and Characterization of Gentamicin-Loaded Arabinoxylan-Sodium Alginate Films as Antibacterial Wound Dressing**

**Abdulaziz I. Alzarea <sup>1</sup> , Nabil K. Alruwaili <sup>2</sup> , Muhammad Masood Ahmad <sup>2</sup> , Muhammad Usman Munir <sup>3</sup> , Adeel Masood Butt <sup>4</sup> , Ziyad A. Alrowaili <sup>5</sup> , Muhammad Syafiq Bin Shahari <sup>6</sup> , Ziyad S. Almalki <sup>7</sup> , Saad S. Alqahtani <sup>8</sup> , Anton V. Dolzhenko <sup>6</sup> and Naveed Ahmad 2,\***


**Abstract:** Biopolymer-based antibacterial films are attractive materials for wound dressing application because they possess chemical, mechanical, exudate absorption, drug delivery, antibacterial, and biocompatible properties required to support wound healing. Herein, we fabricated and characterized films composed of arabinoxylan (AX) and sodium alginate (SA) loaded with gentamicin sulfate (GS) for application as a wound dressing. The FTIR, XRD, and thermal analyses show that AX, SA, and GS interacted through hydrogen bonding and were thermally stable. The AXSA film displays desirable wound dressing characteristics: transparency, uniform thickness, smooth surface morphology, tensile strength similar to human skin, mild water/exudate uptake capacity, water transmission rate suitable for wound dressing, and excellent cytocompatibility. In Franz diffusion release studies, >80% GS was released from AXSA films in two phases in 24 h following the Fickian diffusion mechanism. In disk diffusion assay, the AXSA films demonstrated excellent antibacterial effect against *E.coli, S. aureus*, and *P. aeruginosa.* Overall, the findings suggest that GS-loaded AXSA films hold potential for further development as antibacterial wound dressing material.

**Keywords:** arabinoxylan; sodium alginate; wound healing; antibacterial dressing; drug delivery
