The Effect of Select Personal Care Ingredients and Simple Formulations on the Attachment of Bacteria on Polystyrene

Kathleen Engelbrecht,Stacy Mundschau,Scott Wenzel,Vinod Chaudhary,David Koenig

doi:10.3390/cosmetics5030042

Abstract

The human body is covered with bacteria that are required for health and wellbeing. Additionally, there are pathogenic bacteria that are unwanted. It is therefore important to understand how personal care ingredients interact with these bacteria. To help understand these interactions, a high-throughput assay was developed to study the effect of personal care ingredients on attachment. Seventeen personal care ingredients were assayed singly and in simple alcohol based formulations. Three of the ingredients decreased the attachment of both bacteria tested by 90% singly and in formulation. Personal care ingredients singly and in simple formulations can prevent the attachment of bacteria. Further research is needed to better understand how personal care ingredients affect bacterial attachment and how these effects can be used to create new hygiene products for consumers.

Highlights

The skin contains its own microflora of bacteria, viruses, and fungi
A rapid and simple high throughput assay was developed to determine the effect of personal care ingredients on the attachment of bacteria to a surface
This study shows that personal care ingredients and formulations affect the attachment of bacteria

Summary

Introduction

The skin contains its own microflora of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The resident microbes adapted to the skin constitute one of the many defenses humans have against pathogenic microbes [1,2].These resident microbes vary between body sites with oily (face), moist (axilla), foot, and dry (palmar) sites having their own distinct microbiota [3]. The resident microbes adapted to the skin constitute one of the many defenses humans have against pathogenic microbes [1,2]. Non-discriminate removal of the resident skin microorganisms by surface active agents or annihilation using topical antimicrobials can destroy this beneficial ecology leaving room for transient pathogenic bacteria to be picked up [2]. These pathogenic bacteria can cause disease or be spread to others. Preventing the attachment of pathogenic bacteria would provide considerable benefits to consumers by helping them maintain skin health and cleanliness. A need exists to use a gentle nontoxic approach to prevent pathogenic bacteria from attaching to and thereby colonizing the skin

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