title: All natural cellulose acetate-Lemongrass essential oil antimicrobial nanocapsules.
abstract: Nanocapsules and nanoparticles play an essential role in the delivery of pharmaceutical agents in modern era, since they can be delivered in specific tissues and cells. Natural polymers, such as cellulose acetate, are becoming very important due to their availability, biocompatibility, absence of toxicity and biodegradability. In parallel, essential oils are having continuous growth in biomedical applications due to the inherent active compounds that they contain. A characteristic example is lemongrass oil that has exceptional antimicrobial properties. In this work, nanocapsules of cellulose acetate with lemongrass oil were developed with the solvent/anti-solvent method with resulting diameter tailored between 95 and 185nm. Various physico-chemical and surface analysis techniques were employed to investigate the formation of the nanocapsules. These all-natural nanocapsules found to well bioadhere to mucous membranes and to have very good antimicrobial properties at little concentrations against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
authors.affiliation: Smart Materials Group, Nanophysics Department, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: ioannis.liakos@iit.it.
authors.forename: Ioannis L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Liakos
authors.affiliation: Nanobiophotonics, Nanophysics Department, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: D'autilia
authors.affiliation: University of Pavia, Department of Drug Sciences, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garzoni
authors.affiliation: University of Pavia, Department of Drug Sciences, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonferoni
authors.affiliation: Nanochemistry Department, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scarpellini
authors.affiliation: Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Barsanti 1, 73010 Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.affiliation: Smart Materials Group, Nanophysics Department, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carzino
authors.affiliation: Nanobiophotonics, Nanophysics Department, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bianchini
authors.affiliation: Nanobiointeractions & Nanodiagnostics, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Pier Paolo
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Pompa
authors.affiliation: Smart Materials Group, Nanophysics Department, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: athanassia.athanassiou@iit.it.
authors.forename: Athanassia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Athanassiou
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000737:chemistry*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013729:Terpenes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D053769:Nanocapsules; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils; D012997:Solvents; D013729:Terpenes; C005062:acetylcellulose; C052901:lemongrass oil; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Antimicrobial; Bio-adhesion; Cellulose acetate; Drug delivery; Escherichia coli; Essential oils; Lemongrass oil; Nano-pharmaceutics; Nanocapsules; Nanoparticles; Staphylococcus aureus