HYBRID NANOSYSTEM FOR STABILIZING ESSENTIAL OILS IN BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

The microfungi and especially the opportunistic yeasts have emerged as a major cause of human diseases, particularly among immunocompromised individuals and hospitalized patients. Nowadays, medical devices became an essential component in the supportive care of many patients and the association of microbial biofilm related infections with indwelling devices are of great interest. The treatment of fungal infections has lagged behind antibacterial chemotherapy, reason for which the development of alternative or complementary therapeutic strategies become an emergency. The essential oils are proven to exhibit a strong antimicrobial effect on biofilm grown cells, but because of the unstable compounds existing in the complex matrix of the essential oils, the stabilization processes is an important matter. The aim of the present study was to investigate the utility of a new hybrid nanosystem covering treatment for the stabilization of the essential oils and for the further improvement of their antifungal properties. Nanoparticles obtained by a modified Massart method were used in order to obtain a core/shell/coated-shell for the covering treatment of inert substrata, subsequently used for the in vitro study of the fungal biofilm development. The biofilm architecture was assessed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results are recommending the nanosystem for the stabilization of Anethum graveolens essential oils, which proved a significant antibiofilm activity, highlighting the opportunity of using them for the developing of efficient antimicrobial strategies for microbial biofilms related infections.