Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity of Curcumin-Loaded Electrospun Nanofibers for the Prevention of the Biofilm-Associated Infections.

Anna Di Salle,Gianluca Viscusi,Vittoria Vittoria,Anna Calarco,Gianfranco Peluso,Giuliana Gorrasi,Anna Valentino,Elena Lamberti,Francesca Di Cristo

doi:10.3390/molecules26164866

Abstract

Curcumin extracted from the rhizome of Curcuma Longa has been used in therapeutic preparations for centuries in different parts of the world. However, its bioactivity is limited by chemical instability, water insolubility, low bioavailability, and extensive metabolism. In this study, the coaxial electrospinning technique was used to produce both poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL)–curcumin and core–shell nanofibers composed of PCL and curcumin in the core and poly (lactic acid) (PLA) in the shell. Morphology and physical properties, as well as the release of curcumin were studied and compared with neat PCL, showing the formation of randomly oriented, defect-free cylindrical fibers with a narrow distribution of the dimensions. The antibacterial and antibiofilm potential, including the capacity to interfere with the quorum-sensing mechanism, was evaluated on Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, and Streptococcus mutans, two opportunistic pathogenic bacteria frequently associated with infections. The reported results demonstrated the ability of the Curcumin-loading membranes to inhibit both PAO1 and S. mutans biofilm growth and activity, thus representing a promising solution for the prevention of biofilm-associated infections. Moreover, the high biocompatibility and the ability to control the oxidative stress of damaged tissue, make the synthesized membranes useful as scaffolds in tissue engineering regeneration, helping to accelerate the healing process.

Highlights

Among natural compounds, curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6heptadiene-3,5-dione), the main active components isolated from the rhizome of Curcuma Longa L., is well known for its beneficial effect on human health because of its outstanding anti-inflammatory [1], antioxidant [2], anticancer [3], wound healing [4,5], and antibacterial [6] properties
The antibacterial and antibiofilm potential, including the capacity to interfere with the quorum-sensing mechanism, was evaluated on Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, and Streptococcus mutans, two opportunistic pathogenic bacteria frequently associated with infections
The low Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level in the cell supernatant confirms the absence of cell membrane damage (Figure 9B). These results demonstrate that the fabricated membranes could be employed as scaffolds in tissue engineering regeneration to control the oxidative stress of damaged tissue, helping to accelerates the healing process

Summary

Introduction

Curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6heptadiene-3,5-dione), the main active components isolated from the rhizome of Curcuma Longa L., is well known for its beneficial effect on human health because of its outstanding anti-inflammatory [1], antioxidant [2], anticancer [3], wound healing [4,5], and antibacterial [6] properties. High drug loading capacity, porosity, simultaneous delivery of different therapeutic agents, adequate mechanical strength, and cost-effectiveness are appealing characteristics for use in drug delivery systems [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27] In this context, the coaxial electrospinning technique, combining the properties from two different materials into a single core-sheath fiber, provides important and unique features relevant for biomedical applications [28,29,30,31,32,33,34]

Methods

Results

Conclusion