Jornal de Engenharia Química Avançada

Abstrato

PAT-Biodegradable polymers for antimicrobial textile finishing

A. Fraj

Nanotechnology-based polymeric delivery systems have been proposed as a promising therapeutic tool to enhance essential oils’ aromatherapy use to increase their aqueous solubility, promote their stability during thermal processing and storage, thereby enhancing their applicability and improve their pharmacological activity. This study proposes the use of both polycaprolactone (PCL) and ethylcellulose (EC), as biodegradable and biocompatible wall materials for the encapsulation of Origanum vulgare L. and Lavandula angustifolia by two different preparation methods (the nanoprecipitation and the simple coacervation). Physicochemical characteristics and the thermal behavior of both systems were, further, studied. Biofunctional wound dressings impregnated both essential oils-loaded micro-, and nanocapsules were performed. The efficacy of impregnation was verified through SEM and ATR-FTIR. Essentials oils delivery in physiological serum: ethanol (80:20) mixture was also carried out. The micro-, and nanocapsules polymeric formulations and the treated polyamide fabrics were screened for their antimicrobial properties in vitro. Results showed that the nanocapsules impregnated polyamide fabric exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against the Gram-positive bacterium of Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, the penetration profile of carvacrol and linalool into the relevant layers of the porcine skin was performed with the in vitro Franz diffusion cells and the controlled release in porcine skin layers was achieved with high penetration in the deepest skin layers. Thus, this present work highlighted the potential of the essential oil micro-, nanocapsules impregnated polyamide textiles as a potent delivery system for effective treatment of skin infections.