Novel electrospun fibers with incorporated commensal bacteria for potential preventive treatment of the diabetic foot.

AIM: A novel electrospun biocompatible nanofibrous material loaded with commensal bacteria for potential preventive treatment of the diabetic foot was developed.

MATERIALS &

METHODS

Two biocompatible polymers (carboxymethylcellulose and polyethylene oxide) were combined with a bacterium isolate from the skin located between the toes of a healthy adult (identified using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry-based method as a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis). Higher bacteria loads in the material were assured through their encapsulation in polyethylenimine. The nanofibrous material was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, zeta-potential measurements and through evaluation of cell growth and viability.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION: nanometer formation was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy, while the zeta-potential measurements revealed successful bacteria encapsulation. Viable and sufficiently growing cells were confirmed prior and after their incorporation.

CONCLUSION

The prepared materials were proven suitable to deliver viable commensal bacteria in a comparable share to the Staphylococcaceae in the foot microbiome making this approach promising for preventive diabetic foot treatment.