Development of Alginate Hydrogels Incorporating Essential Oils Loaded in Chitosan Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications
Ioanna Pitterou,
Flora Kalogeropoulou,
Andromachi Tzani,
Konstantinos Tsiantas,
Maria Anna Gatou,
Evangelia Pavlatou,
Anthimia Batrinou,
Christina Fountzoula,
Anastasios Kriebardis,
Panagiotis Zoumpoulakis,
Anastasia Detsi
Affiliations
Ioanna Pitterou
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Flora Kalogeropoulou
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Andromachi Tzani
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Konstantinos Tsiantas
Laboratory of Chemistry, Analysis and Design of Food Processes, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Maria Anna Gatou
Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Evangelia Pavlatou
Laboratory of General Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Anthimia Batrinou
Laboratory of Chemistry, Analysis and Design of Food Processes, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Christina Fountzoula
Laboratory of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Cosmetic Science, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Anastasios Kriebardis
Laboratory of Reliability and Quality Control in Laboratory Hematology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Panagiotis Zoumpoulakis
Laboratory of Chemistry, Analysis and Design of Food Processes, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Anastasia Detsi
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
A hybrid alginate hydrogel–chitosan nanoparticle system suitable for biomedical applications was prepared. Chitosan (CS) was used as a matrix for the encapsulation of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil (LEO) and Mentha (Mentha arvensis) essential oil (MEO). An aqueous solution of an acidic Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent (NADES), namely choline chloride/ascorbic acid in a 2:1 molar ratio, was used to achieve the acidic environment for the dissolution of chitosan and also played the role of the ionic gelator for the preparation of the chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs). The hydrodynamic diameter of the CS-MEO NPs was 130.7 nm, and the size of the CS-LEO NPs was 143.4 nm (as determined using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis). The CS-NPs were incorporated into alginate hydrogels crosslinked with CaCl2. The hydrogels showed significant water retention capacity (>80%) even after the swollen sample was kept in the aqueous HCl solution (pH 1.2) for 4 h, indicating a good stability of the network. The hydrogels were tested (a) for their ability to absorb dietary lipids and (b) for their antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative foodborne pathogens. The antimicrobial activity of the hybrid hydrogels was comparable to that of the widely used food preservative sodium benzoate 5% w/v.
