Destruction of Opportunistic Pathogens via Polymer Nanoparticle-Mediated Release of Plant-Based Antimicrobial Payloads.

ABSTRACT: The synthesis of antimicrobial thymol/carvacrol-loaded polythioether nanoparticles (NPs) via a one-pot, solvent-free miniemulsion thiol-ene photopolymerization process is reported. The active antimicrobial agents, thymol and carvacrol, are employed as "solvents" for the thiol-ene monomer phase in the miniemulsion to enable facile high capacity loading (≈50% w/w), excellent encapsulation efficiencies (>95%), and elimination of all postpolymerization purification processes. The NPs serve as high capacity reservoirs for slow-release and delivery of thymol/carvacrol-combination payloads that exhibit inhibitory and bactericidal activity (>99.9% kill efficiency at 24 h) against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including both saprophytic (Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 and Escherichia coli

SUBMITTER: Amato DN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5474087 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature