Piperine-Loaded Zein Electrospun Nanofibers: Development, Characterization and Antibacterial Application

Abstract

Abstract A biofilm is a structured community of bacteria living within a self-generated polymer matrix composing polysaccharide, lipid, protein and DNA. Bacterial biofilms trigger chronic infections such as those affiliated to implanted medical devices. This chronicity is a consequence of increased tolerance of biofilms to antibiotics and bactericidal chemicals along with resistance to phagocytosis and other factors of the body's defense system. One of the therapeutic approaches to overcome the antibiotic resistance of biofilms, is to employ new drug delivery systems. Meanwhile, investigations on nanofibers with appropriate formulation, due to their unique characteristics is being conducting remarkably. Piperine as a natural substance, its antibacterial effects have been confirmed in several studies. Therefore, in the current study, the antibacterial potential of nanofibers made of zein polymer enriched with piperine on staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm was evaluated. The enhancement of the amount of piperine in the nanofibers led to the increase of the inhibition concentration as well as the bactericidal concentration. According to the results of microbial tests, nanofibers containing piperine had a greater effect on the biofilm of staphylococcus epidermidis compared to the free piperine formulation and nanofibers without piperine. Excellent antibacterial efficacy was assigned to the sample with 10% piperine.