Abstract
Fibrous constructs with incorporated cinnamon‐extract have previously been shown to have potent antifungal abilities. The question remains to whether these constructs are useful in the prevention of bacterial infections in fiber form and what the antimicrobial effects means in terms of toxicity to the native physiological cells. In this work, cinnamon extract containing poly (ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) fibers were successfully manufactured by pressurized gyration and had an average size of ∼2 μm. Cinnamon extract containing PCL fibers were tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis bacterial species to assess their antibacterial capacity; it was found that these fibers were able to reduce viable cell numbers of the bacterial species up to two orders of magnitude lower than the control group. The results of the antibacterial tests were assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The constructs were also tested under indirect MTT tests where they showed little to no toxicity, similar to the control groups. Additionally, cell viability fluorescent imaging displayed no significant toxicity issues with the fibers, even at their highest tested concentration. Here we present a viable method for the production the non‐toxic and naturally abundant cinnamon extracted fibers for numerous biomedical applications.
Highlights
In open wound settings, bacterial infections are especially dangerous due to the high number of infections seen in hospitals, which provide opportunities for multidrug resistant strains.[1,2,3] Open wounds offer an ideal environment for pathogens, which are free to invade the compromised defensive barrier, the skin
C1, C2, and C3 fibers only differed in the addition of cinnamon with increasing concentrations, which are denoted in Figure 1; all fiber samples in this work consisted of a base concentration of 15% (w/v) PCL
Thermal decomposition temperatures and weight loss % data obtained by the thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) (Figure 2) shows that the blending of PCL with cinnamon extract causes a slight reduction in the thermal stability of the fibers
Summary
Bacterial infections are especially dangerous due to the high number of infections seen in hospitals, which provide opportunities for multidrug resistant strains.[1,2,3] Open wounds offer an ideal environment for pathogens (bacteria, fungi, and viruses), which are free to invade the compromised defensive barrier, the skin. In order to overcome this problem, several approaches have been tried, these include antibiotics, silver (Ag) nanoparticles, zinc oxide and chlorhexidine.[4,5,6] these antibacterial agents are limited by their toxicity and inability to combat antimicrobial resistance, which has led to an alarming increase in ineffective agents. The wide usage of Ag nanoparticles as antibacterial agents, there remain reports on its cytotoxicity and genotoxicity.[7] Recent studies have focused efforts on alternative antibacterial approaches such as plant extracts, essential oils, or single chemical compounds as an alternative to antibiotics or synthetic antibacterial agents for wound management.[8]
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