DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKEN EGG WHITE AND MUPIROCIN LOADED HYDROGEL DRESSING MATERIAL FOR INHIBITION OF BACTERIAL GROWTH

Abstract

The bacterial infection of wound is one of the major challenges in wound care treatment. Topical antibiotic mupirocin is an antibacterial agent widely used to inhibit bacterial growth after wound formation in the human body. Antibacterial activity of egg white with wound healing capability also has been reported in research articles. Therefore, the hydrogel was prepared by incorporating chicken egg white and mupirocin into poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and gelatin polymer matrix via solution casting method for the purpose of bacterial growth inhibition. The developed hydrogels were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) that confirmed the presence of a functional group of the different components in the hydrogel and crosslinking occurred by esterification process between PVA and gelatin by glutaraldehyde. The developed hydrogels were characterized morphologically by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), it showed a smooth break surface for neat hydrogel (NH) and chicken egg white loaded hydrogel (EH), smooth and homogenous surface for mupirocin loaded hydrogel (MH) and rough surface for mupirocin with chicken egg white loaded hydrogel (MEH). Moreover, swelling behavior in water, moisture retention capability, folding endurance, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), pH determination, gel fraction, spreadability, and porosity tests were conducted to reveal the chemical and physical properties of the hydrogel. All the values obtained from these tests were compatible with the published data and to some extent with the commercially available products. Eventually, developed hydrogels were characterized biologically by the disc diffusion method to evaluate bacterial inhibition activity. MH and MEH showed significant inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria and EH showed moderate inhibition against experimented bacteria. This newly prepared chicken egg white and mupirocin-loaded hydrogel might play an important role in inhibiting the growth of bacteria during the wound healing process. Hence, current outcomes with experimental findings can be used for further investigation in future in vivo tests on mice models.