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Review
. 2023 Dec 20;25(1):82.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25010082.

Essential-Oils-Loaded Biopolymeric Nanoparticles as Strategies for Microbial and Biofilm Control: A Current Status

Alejandra Romero-Montero  1 , Luis Javier Melgoza-Ramírez  2 , Jesús Augusto Ruíz-Aguirre  2 , Alejandra Chávez-Santoscoy  3 , Jonathan Javier Magaña  2   4 , Hernán Cortés  4 , Gerardo Leyva-Gómez  1 , María Luisa Del Prado-Audelo  2
Affiliations
Review

Essential-Oils-Loaded Biopolymeric Nanoparticles as Strategies for Microbial and Biofilm Control: A Current Status

Alejandra Romero-Montero et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The emergence of bacterial strains displaying resistance to the currently available antibiotics is a critical global concern. These resilient bacteria can form biofilms that play a pivotal role in the failure of bacterial infection treatments as antibiotics struggle to penetrate all biofilm regions. Consequently, eradicating bacteria residing within biofilms becomes considerably more challenging than their planktonic counterparts, leading to persistent and chronic infections. Among various approaches explored, essential oils loaded in nanoparticles based on biopolymers have emerged, promising strategies that enhance bioavailability and biological activities, minimize side effects, and control release through regulated pharmacokinetics. Different available reviews analyze nanosystems and essential oils; however, usually, their main goal is the analysis of their antimicrobial properties, and progress in biofilm combat is rarely discussed, or it is not the primary objective. This review aims to provide a global vision of biofilm conformation and describes mechanisms of action attributed to each EO. Furthermore, we present a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in biopolymeric nanoparticles research, especially in chitosan- and zein-based nanosystems, targeting multidrug-resistant bacteria in both their sessile and biofilm forms, which will help to design precise strategies for combating biofilms.

Keywords: biofilm; chitosan nanoparticles; essential oils; natural products; phytochemicals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of a biofilm formation (see detailed explanation in text).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structure of some phytochemicals present in EOs (rosemary, oregano, and clove) and their main antimicrobial mechanisms. Image created with Biorender.com.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mechanisms of interaction of NPs with the biofilm (see details in the text). (A) The positive electrical charge of the NPs favors penetration, while the negative charges delay diffusion. (B) NPs with hydrophobic surfaces present greater interaction with bacteria. (C) NPs with a smaller size show greater diffusion. (D) The rod-like shape exhibits greater penetration capacity than the spherical ones. (E) The formation of the biomolecular corona can retain the transit of the NP on the surface of the biofilm by an increase in size and a decrease in the self-diffusion coefficient. The upper left represents one of the approximate pore diameters of the open areas of the biofilms.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Microscopic analysis of P. aeruginosa PAO1 biofilm on treatment with sub-MIC concentration (500 µg/mL) of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde-loaded NPs compared to untreated control [140]. (a) Light microscopic observation of biofilm of untreated control; (b) light microscopic observation of biofilm treated with cinnamaldehyde; (c) light microscopic observation of biofilm treated with NPs; Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy image of (d) biofilm of untreated control; (e) biofilm treated with cinnamaldehyde; (f) biofilm treated with cinnamaldehyde-loaded NPs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Representative 3D projection of image Z-stacks showing the distribution of bacterial cells (green) in P. aeruginosa biofilms and chitosan nanoparticles (orange): (A) chitosan; (B) chitosan–SH11 [142].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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