Development of biohealingbandaids using phb-pegamalgamatedwith essential oil blends

Abstract

Afra Noorain, Pradyumna Shetty, Pranathi Marri, Prantik Sengupta, Srividya Shivakumar*

Plastic waste exacerbates the major environmental issues that are now harming humans, animals, and the planet. PHB is the most promising alternative to plastic made from petrochemicals and biodegradable materials. This is due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, UV resistance, and flexible properties, which make them an ecologically friendly substitute for synthetic polymers. The high degree of crystallinity and extreme stiffness and brittleness of PHB restrict its use. To get around this limitation, the PHB is fed plasticizers. Poly (ethylene glycol, or PEG), when mixed with other polymers, may have a plasticizing effect. Additionally, it is non-toxic and biodegradable. According to the literature, PEG reduces the interactions between PHB structures inside molecules. The aim of this work was to develop new antimicrobial films (PHB and PEG-based films), amalgamated with essential oils, and to determine its antimicrobial potential against five pathogenic microorganisms, namely Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 740, Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 741 and hospital sample isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The essential oils used in this study are Garlic oil, Clove oil, Thyme oil and Eucalyptus oil. The methods performed are Bacterial staining, antimicrobial activity of Essential oils, Anti-Quorum sensing assay and Violaceum pigment extraction. Among four essential oils, Thyme oil incorporated with PHB and PEG based films showed better antimicrobial activity than the others.