Improved anti-Cutibacterium acnes activity of tea tree oil-loaded chitosan-poly(ε-caprolactone) core-shell nanocapsules

Natália Prado da Silva; Eloá do Carmo Rapozo Lavinas Pereira; Lucas Mattos Duarte; Jhamine Caroline de Oliveira Freitas; Camila Guimarães de Almeida; Thiago Pereira da Silva; Rossana C N Melo; Ana Carolina Morais Apolônio; Marcone Augusto Leal de Oliveira; Humberto de Mello Brandão; Frederico Pittella; Rodrigo Luiz Fabri; Guilherme Diniz Tavares; Priscila de Faria Pinto

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111371

Improved anti-Cutibacterium acnes activity of tea tree oil-loaded chitosan-poly(ε-caprolactone) core-shell nanocapsules

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2020 Dec:196:111371. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111371. Epub 2020 Sep 19.

Authors

Natália Prado da Silva¹, Eloá do Carmo Rapozo Lavinas Pereira², Lucas Mattos Duarte³, Jhamine Caroline de Oliveira Freitas⁴, Camila Guimarães de Almeida⁵, Thiago Pereira da Silva⁶, Rossana C N Melo⁶, Ana Carolina Morais Apolônio⁷, Marcone Augusto Leal de Oliveira⁸, Humberto de Mello Brandão⁵, Frederico Pittella², Rodrigo Luiz Fabri⁹, Guilherme Diniz Tavares¹⁰, Priscila de Faria Pinto¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Protein Structure and Function Study Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil; Laboratory of Nanostructured Systems Development, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
² Laboratory of Nanostructured Systems Development, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
³ Group of Analytical Chemistry and Chemometrics, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil; Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 24020-121, Brazil.
⁴ Protein Structure and Function Study Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil; Bioactive Natural Products Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
⁵ Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
⁶ Laboratory of Cellular Biology, Department of Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
⁷ Department of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
⁸ Group of Analytical Chemistry and Chemometrics, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
⁹ Bioactive Natural Products Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
¹⁰ Laboratory of Nanostructured Systems Development, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: guilherme.tavares@farmacia.ufjf.br.
¹¹ Protein Structure and Function Study Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.

PMID: 32980571
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111371

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop tea tree oil (TTO)-loaded chitosan-poly(ε-caprolactone) core-shell nanocapsules (NC-TTO-Ch) aiming the topical acne treatment. TTO was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and nanocapsules were characterized regarding mean particle size (Z-average), polydispersity index (PdI), zeta potential (ZP), pH, entrapment efficiency (EE), morphology by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and anti-Cutibacterium acnes activity. The main constituents of TTO were terpinen-4-ol (37.11 %), γ-terpinene (16.32 %), α-terpinene (8.19 %), ρ-cimene (6.56 %), and α-terpineol (6.07 %). NC-TTO-Ch presented Z-average of 268.0 ± 3.8 nm and monodisperse size distribution (PdI < 0.3). After coating the nanocapsules with chitosan, we observed an inversion in ZP to a positive value (+31.0 ± 1.8 mV). This finding may indicate the presence of chitosan on the nanocapsules' surface, which was corroborated by the AFM images. In addition, NC-TTO-Ch showed a slightly acidic pH (∼5.0), compatible with topical application. The EE, based on Terpinen-4-ol concentration, was approximately 95 %. This data suggests the nanocapsules' ability to reduce the TTO volatilization. Furthermore, NC-TTO-Ch showed significant anti-C. acnes activity, with a 4× reduction in the minimum inhibitory concentration, compared to TTO and a decrease in C. acnes cell viability, with an increase in the percentage of dead cells (17 %) compared to growth control (6.6 %) and TTO (9.7 %). Therefore, chitosan-poly(ε-caprolactone) core-shell nanocapsules are a promising tool for TTO delivery, aiming at the activity against C. acnes for the topical acne treatment.

Keywords: Acne vulgaris; Chitosan; Core-shell nanocapsules; Poly(ε-caprolactone); Tea tree oil.

MeSH terms

Chitosan*
Nanocapsules*
Polyesters
Tea Tree Oil* / pharmacology

Substances

Nanocapsules
Polyesters
polycaprolactone
Tea Tree Oil
Chitosan