Topical effectiveness of eugenol phytosome / chitosome hydrogels on the healing process of infected excision wounds

Abstract

The fabrication of a safe antibacterial wound dressing lack of antibiotics is essential for the wound healing process. Hydrogels with appropriate mechanical properties containing antibacterial agents are good candidates for this purpose. This novel study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of hydrogels prepared from eugenol encapsulated into phytosome and chitosomes (HG-Phyt/Chit@Eu) on the wound healing process of infected wounds. The physicochemical properties, toxicity, eugenol release and antibacterial activities of formulations were assessed under in vitro condition. The HG-Eu, HG-Phyt@Eu, and HG-Phyt/Chit@Eu were formulated into hydrogel form and administrated for the treatment of infected wounds. The physicochemical results confirmed successful synthesis of formulations. The results showed that formulations were safe and exhibited antibacterial activity against positive and/or negative-Gram bacteria. The addition of phytosome and chitosomes reduced the rapid release of Eu. Topical administration of hydrogels significantly accelerated the wound healing process by decreasing total bacterial count and the expressions of COX-2, 4-HNE, NF-κB, Nrf2, iNOS-positive cell and increasing the expression of COL-1A positive staining compared with control mice. In conclusion, this preliminary study showed that HG-Phyt/Chit@Eu could compete with mupirocin and can be used for the treatment of infected wounds.