Chitosan Nanoparticle Encapsulation of Antibacterial Essential Oils.

Chitosan is the most suitable encapsulation polymer because of its natural abundance, biodegradability, and surface functional groups in the form of free NH groups. The presence of NH groups allows for the facile grafting of functionalized molecules onto the chitosan surface, resulting in multifunctional materialistic applications. Quaternization of chitosan's free amino is one of the typical chemical modifications commonly achieved under acidic conditions. This quaternization improves its ionic character, making it ready for ionic-ionic surface modification. Although the cationic nature of chitosan alone exhibits antibacterial activity because of its interaction with negatively-charged bacterial membranes, the nanoscale size of chitosan further amplifies its antibiofilm activity. Additionally, the researcher used chitosan nanoparticles as polymeric materials to encapsulate antibiofilm agents (such as antibiotics and natural phytochemicals), serving as an excellent strategy to combat biofilm-based secondary infections. This paper provided a summary of available carbohydrate-based biopolymers as antibiofilm materials. Furthermore, the paper focuses on chitosan nanoparticle-based encapsulation of basil essential oil (), mandarin essential oil (), essential oil ("Ajwain"), dill plant seed essential oil (), peppermint oil (), green tea oil (), cardamom essential oil, clove essential oil (), cumin seed essential oil (), lemongrass essential oil (), summer savory essential oil (), thyme essential oil, cinnamomum essential oil (), and nettle essential oil (). Additionally, chitosan nanoparticles are used for the encapsulation of the major essential components carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde, the encapsulation of an nanoemulsion of eucalyptus oil (), the encapsulation of a mandarin essential oil nanoemulsion, and the electrospinning nanofiber of collagen hydrolysate-chitosan with lemon balm () and dill () essential oil.