Antimicrobial Lemongrass Essential Oil-Copper Ferrite Cellulose Acetate Nanocapsules.
Cellulose acetate (CA) nanoparticles were combined with two antimicrobial agents, namely lemongrass (LG) essential oil and Cu-ferrite nanoparticles. The preparation method of CA nanocapsules (NCs), with the two antimicrobial agents, was based on the nanoprecipitation method using the solvent/anti-solvent technique. Several physical and chemical analyses were performed to characterize the resulting NCs and to study their formation mechanism. The size of the combined antimicrobial NCs was found to be ca. 220 nm. The presence of Cu-ferrites enhanced the attachment of LG essential oil into the CA matrix. The magnetic properties of the combined construct were weak, due to the shielding of Cu-ferrites from the polymeric matrix, making them available for drug delivery applications where spontaneous magnetization effects should be avoided. The antimicrobial properties of the NCs were significantly enhanced with respect to CA/LG only. This work opens novel routes for the development of organic/inorganic nanoparticles with exceptional antimicrobial activities.
Smart Materials Group, Nanophysics Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. ioannis.liakos@iit.it.
Ioannis L
IL
Liakos
Nanostructures Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Mohamed.Abdellatif@iit.it.
Mohamed H
MH
Abdellatif
INSTM-RU of Florence and Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via Della Lastruccia 3-13, 50019 Sesto F.no, Firenze, Italy. claudia.innocenti@unifi.it.
Claudia
C
Innocenti
Nanochemistry Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Alice.Scarpellini@iit.it.
Alice
A
Scarpellini
Smart Materials Group, Nanophysics Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Riccardo.Carzino@iit.it.
Riccardo
R
Carzino
Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Barsanti 1, 73010 Lecce, Italy. Virgilio.Brunetti@iit.it.
Virgilio
V
Brunetti
Nanochemistry Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Sergio.Marras@iit.it.
Sergio
S
Marras
Nanochemistry Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Rosaria.Brescia@iit.it.
Rosaria
R
Brescia
Nanochemistry Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Filippo.Drago@iit.it.
Filippo
F
Drago
Nanobiointeractions &amp; Nanodiagnostics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy. Pierpaolo.Pompa@iit.it.
Pier Paolo
PP
Pompa
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031743:Cymbopogon / Q000737:chemistry*; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000737:chemistry; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010316:Particle Size; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D053769:Nanocapsules; D009822:Oils, Volatile; C001215:ferrite; C005062:acetylcellulose; D003300:Copper; D002482:Cellulose
antimicrobial nanocapsules; antimicrobial resistance; cellulose acetate; copper ferrite nanoparticles; drug delivery; lemongrass essential oil