Novel nanogel formulations with good antibacterial activities against wound infections

• Main Author: Xu, Ray
• Other Authors: Chan Bee Eng, Mary
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Engineering; Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; Nanogel; Antibacterial; Nanomaterial
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176774
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Nanogels are nanoscale hydrogel particles with dimensions typically ranging from tens to hundreds of nanometers. These unique materials combine the properties of hydrogels, which are three-dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymer chains capable of absorbing and retaining large amounts of water, with the advantages offered by nanotechnology. Nanogels exhibit a high degree of tunability in terms of their size, shape, and chemical composition, allowing for precise control over their properties and functionalities. On the other hand, various antibiotics resistant bacteria are rising as a threat to public health. Conventional antibiotics can be ineffective against these bacteria, and infection at wound sites can lead not only to mild skin and soft tissue damage, but also life-threatening situations. Among them, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been one of the major concerns for its resistance to multiple antibiotics, including methicillin and other b-lactam antibiotics. This paper introduces a novel nanogel formulation for antibacterial purposes on wound dressings, specifically targeting MRSA bacteria. The formulation is innately antibacterial with oligoimidazolium (OIM) and alginate as its crosslinking agents and loaded with NAC. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is used to assess its particle characteristics, and determination of MIC values on MRSA is used to assess its antibacterial activity. When carrying out MIC test, valinomycin was used as the positive control and negative control is set by adding no active compound and only bacteria. The developed nanogel formulation exhibits an excellent antibacterial effect on MRSA with a satisfying particle size and surface charge.