Immobilization of ZnO-TiO2 Nanocomposite into Polyimidazolium Amphiphilic Chitosan Film, Targeting Improving Its Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Applications

Wesam Abd El-Fattah; Mohammad Y Alfaifi; Jafar Alkabli; Heba A Ramadan; Ali A Shati; Serag Eldin I Elbehairi; Reda F M Elshaarawy; Islam Kamal; Moustafa M Saleh

doi:10.3390/antibiotics12071110

Immobilization of ZnO-TiO₂ Nanocomposite into Polyimidazolium Amphiphilic Chitosan Film, Targeting Improving Its Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Applications

Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 Jun 27;12(7):1110. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12071110.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Department, College of Science, IMSIU (Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University), P.O. Box 5701, Riyadh 11432, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Port Said University, Port Said 42521, Egypt.
³ Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences and Arts-Alkamil, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta University for Science and Technology, Mansoura 11152, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Suez University, Suez 43533, Egypt.
⁷ Institute for Inorganic Chemistry and Structural Chemistry, Düsseldorf University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
⁸ Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Port Said University, Port Said 42526, Egypt.
⁹ Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Port Said University, Port Said 42526, Egypt.

Abstract

This study presents a green protocol for the fabrication of a multifunctional smart nanobiocomposite (NBC) (ZnO-PIACSB-TiO₂) for secure antimicrobial and antibiofilm applications. First, shrimp shells were upgraded to a polyimidazolium amphiphilic chitosan Schiff base (PIACSB) through a series of physicochemical processes. After that, the PIACSB was used as an encapsulating and coating agent to manufacture a hybrid NBC in situ by co-encapsulating ZnONPs and TiO₂NPs. The physicochemical and visual characteristics of the new NBC were investigated by spectral, microscopic, electrical, and thermal methods. The antimicrobial indices revealed that the newly synthesized, PIACSB-coated TiO₂-ZnO nanocomposite is an exciting antibiotic due to its amazing antimicrobial activity (MIC/MBC→0.34/0.68 μg/mL, 0.20/0.40 μg/mL, and 0.15/0.30 μg/mL working against S. aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa, respectively) and antifungal capabilities. Additionally, ZnO-PIACSB-TiO2 is a potential fighter of bacterial biofilms, with the results being superior to those of the positive control (Cipro), which worked against S. aureus (only 8.7% ± 1.9 biofilm growth), E. coli (only 1.4% ± 1.1 biofilm growth), and P. aeruginosa (only 0.85% ± 1.3 biofilm growth). Meanwhile, the NBC exhibits excellent biocompatibility, as evidenced by its IC₅₀ values against both L929 and HSF (135 and 143 µg/mL), which are significantly higher than those of the MIC doses (0.24-24.85 µg/mL) that work against all tested microbes, as well as the uncoated nanocomposite (IC₅₀ = 19.36 ± 2.04 and 23.48 ± 1.56 µg/mL). These findings imply that the new PIACSB-coated nanocomposite film may offer promising multifunctional food packaging additives to address the customer demand for safe, eco-friendly food products with outstanding antimicrobial and antibiofilm capabilities.

Keywords: antibiofilm; antimicrobial; cytotoxicity; hybrid ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite; polyimidazolium amphiphilic chitosan Schiff base film.

Grants and funding

R.G.P.2/213/44/King Khalid University