Premium
Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Poly(Lactic Acid)–Bovine Lactoferrin Nanofiber Membranes
Author(s) -
Machado Raul,
da Costa André,
Silva Dina M.,
Gomes Andreia C.,
Casal Margarida,
Sencadas Vitor
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201700324
Subject(s) - membrane , nanofiber , lactoferrin , lactic acid , chemistry , electrospinning , antifungal , antimicrobial , microbiology and biotechnology , materials science , bacteria , biochemistry , biology , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , polymer , genetics
Antimicrobial materials have become relevant for local therapies preventing microbial resistance induced by systemic antibiotic treatments. This work reports the development of electrospun poly(lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofiber membranes loaded with bovine lactoferrin (bLF) up to 20 wt%. The membranes present smooth and nondefective fibers with mean diameters between 717 ± 197 and 495 ± 127 nm, and an overall porosity of ≈80%. The hydrophobicity of the PLLA membranes is reduced by the presence of bLF. The release profile of bLF correlates with an anomalous transport model, with 17.7 ± 3.6% being released over 7 weeks. The nanofiber mats show no cytotoxicity on human skin fibroblasts and even promote cell proliferation after short exposure periods. Furthermore, the developed membranes display antifungal activity against Aspergillus nidulans by inhibiting spore germination and mycelial growth. These results evidence the strong potential of bLF–PLLA nanofiber membranes to be used as antifungal dressings.