CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Oct;277(Pt 4):134460. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.134460. Epub 2024 Aug 3.
Polymicrobial communities are seen to be a sign of health, but they can turn detrimental when an excess of pathogenic species leads to recurring vaginal infections. This microbiological imbalance may decrease women's fertility, increasing also the risk of infection by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and/or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There is a worldwide need for smart/sustainable solutions to tackle these types of infections. Hereupon, we investigated, as a potential solution, the use of crayfish chitosan-based membrane as a mucoadhesive, antimicrobial, biocompatible and biodegradable material. Chitosan was chemically extracted with a process yield of ca. 63 % and a degree of deacetylation of ca. 65 %. Further chitosan was characterized by FTIR, DSC, XRD and zeta potential. Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities were tested by microbicide concentration and ABTS methods. The extracted chitosan was confirmed to be antioxidant and antimicrobial against Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin resistant and susceptible strains). Vaginal films using chitosan extracted from crayfish shells were produced by solvent casting, and the biological profile was tested in simulated vaginal fluid as a proof of concept. The main data showed that the vaginal films prepared were active against several microorganisms responsible for vaginal infections, demonstrating their potential in the field.
多微生物群落被视为健康的标志，但当过多的致病物种导致反复发作的阴道感染时，它们可能会变得有害。这种微生物失衡可能会降低女性的生育能力，同时增加感染人乳头瘤病毒 (HPV) 和/或其他性传播感染 (STIs) 的风险。全球需要智能/可持续的解决方案来应对这些类型的感染。因此，我们研究了小龙虾壳聚糖基膜作为一种粘膜粘附、抗菌、生物相容和可生物降解材料的潜在用途。壳聚糖通过化学提取，产率约为 63%，脱乙酰度约为 65%。进一步的壳聚糖通过傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR)、差示扫描量热法 (DSC)、X 射线衍射 (XRD) 和 zeta 电位进行了表征。抗菌和抗氧化活性通过杀菌剂浓度和 ABTS 方法进行了测试。提取的壳聚糖被证实具有抗氧化和抗大肠杆菌、白色念珠菌、金黄色葡萄球菌（耐甲氧西林和敏感菌株）的活性。使用从小龙虾壳中提取的壳聚糖通过溶剂浇铸生产阴道薄膜，并在模拟阴道液中测试其生物特性作为概念验证。主要数据表明，制备的阴道薄膜对几种引起阴道感染的微生物具有活性，证明了它们在该领域的潜力。
