Title: Tea tree oil-containing chitosan/polycaprolactone electrospun nonwoven mats: a systematic study of its anti-bacterial properties in vitro

Authors: Meng-Yi Bai; Yi-Tang Chang; Jie-Chang Tsai; Da-Jiun Wei

Addresses: Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43 Keelung Road, Section 4, Taipei 10607, Taiwan; Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Defense Medical Center, No. 161, Sec. 6, Minquan E. Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei 11490, Taiwan ' Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, No. 70, Linxi Rd., Shilin Dist., Taipei 11102, Taiwan ' Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43 Keelung Road, Section 4, Taipei 10607, Taiwan ' Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, No. 70, Linxi Rd., Shilin Dist., Taipei 11102, Taiwan

Abstract: This study demonstrates a facile and general method developed to prepare a free-standing chitosan/polycaprolactone nonwoven mat (CS/PCLNM) using an electrospinning system equipped with a metallic frame with an air gap. All nonwoven mats are composed of polycaprolactone microfibres coated with a layer of CS or tea tree oil containing-CS (TTO-CS/PCLNM). Four bacteria commonly associated with human skin flora infections or hospital-acquired infections were chosen as the targets for our in vitro anti-bacterial susceptibility testing (P. aeruginosa, M. luteus, S. pyogenes, and S. aureus). The bacteriostatsis ratios of the CS/PCLNM against abovementioned bacteria are −77.2%, −67.5%, 99.9%, and 86.4%, respectively. In addition, we find that the anti-bacterial ability of the CS/PCLNM is further promoted by incorporating a 100 μL of TTO in its CS overlayer. After TTO incorporation, the produced TTO-CS/PCLNM shows anti-bacterial ability against all four strains of bacteria (P. aeruginosa: 99.8%, M. luteus: 12.8%, S. pyogenes: 96.7%, and S. aureus: 99.9%). In conclusion, the TTO-CS/PCLNM exhibits broader anti-bacterial spectrum than that of the CS/PCLNM toward commonly seen skin flora.

Keywords: nanotechnology; electrospinning; controlled release; drug delivery; biomaterials; tea tree oil; chitosan; polycaprolactone microfibres; nonwoven mats; anti-bacterial properties; skin flora infections; hospital acquired infections; bacteriostatsis; bacteria.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2013.058122

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2013 Vol.10 No.10/11, pp.959 - 972

Published online: 08 Dec 2013 *

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