Biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity essays of surgical sutures loaded with oil of Lippia sidoides Cham. with and without natural polymer

Abstract

Triclosan has been used to coat sutures and reduce the occurrence of surgical site infections. However, due to environmental issues and biological safety, there is growing interest in finding safer and biocompatible antimicrobials, among which essential oils are promising candidates. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility of a suture containing the essential oil from the leaves of Lippia sidoides Cham (LSEO) with and without a natural polymer (LSEOP) as a coating material. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was performed to determine the concetration of timol in the coated suture. Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 15656) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) were cultivated in a brain heart infusion medium. The broth microdilution method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), the agar diffusion and the monospecies biofilm experiment for testing bacterial adherence were performed in triplicate. In addition, to determine the biocompatibility of the sutures assay was used African Green Monkey Kidney Epithelial (VERO) Cell Line. For the diffusion agar, multispecies biofilm and biocompatibility assay, LSEO and LESEOP was incorporated in a testing suture (polyglactin 910) using chemical procedures. MIC values of the essencial oil from the leaves of Lippia sidoides Cham. were < 15 μg/mL for both strains. To approve the adherence, HPLC quantified the majority componente of Lippia sidoides Cham. essential oil present in the coated sutures (LSEO and LSEOP). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated LSEO and LSEOP in the coated sutures. The antimicrobial halos (length x width) of the LSEO, LSEOP and triclosan sutures against S. aureus were 25 x 10 mm, 22x 4 mm and 31 x 13 mm respectively. The halos of the LSEO, LSEOP and triclosan sutures against E.coli were 25 mm x 0,5 mm, 16 mm x 4 mm and 23mm x 2 mm, respectively. All the antimicrobial assays showed that the use of coated sutures could reduce bacterial colonization. The LSEO and LSEOP deposited on the sutures exhibited cytotolerable effect. The findings demonstrate that essential oil from Lippia sidoides Cham with and without a natural polymer coating is a promising antimicrobial material that can be used to coat sutures and reduce the occurrence of surgical site infections.