title: Electrospinning an essential oil: cinnamaldehyde enhances the antimicrobial efficacy of chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibers.
abstract: Due to the persistent spread of antibiotic resistance, commercial antibiotic treatments are proving ineffective. Cinnamaldehyde (CA), a volatile essential oil, eradicates pathogens non-specifically. However, the ability to incorporate essential oils into nanofiber mats has not yet been demonstrated, and, only six studies have electrospun two immiscible phases. Here, CA (0.5 and 5.0%) was incorporated into chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions that were successfully electrospun into mats with ∼ 50 nm fiber diameters. Solid-state NMR results corroborated with release studies wherein the 5.0% CA mats released a statistically higher amount of CA-liquid (545% more) and CA-vapor (279% more) than the 0.5% CA mats. In time dependent cytotoxicity studies, the intrinsic antibacterial activity of chitosan along with the quick release of CA enabled high inactivation rates against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For the first time we have demonstrated chitosan/CA/PEO nanofiber mats can serve as CA delivery vehicles that potentially eradicate pseudomonas infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, N533 Life Sciences Laboratories, 240 Thatcher Road, MA 01003-930, USA.
authors.forename: Katrina A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, N533 Life Sciences Laboratories, 240 Thatcher Road, MA 01003-930, USA. Electronic address: schiffman@ecs.umass.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Schiffman
mesh_terms: D000171:Acrolein / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D000171:Acrolein; D048271:Chitosan; C012843:cinnamaldehyde
keywords: Antibacterial; Chitosan; Cinnamaldehyde; Electrospin; Nanofiber; Oil-in-water