Wound healing efficacy of rhamnolipid-coated zinc oxide nanoparticle along with its in vivo antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT

Rhamnolipids are microbial metabolites with antibacterial efficacies, which can be further boosted through the application of nanobiotechnology. In this study, the efficacy of rhamnolipid-coated zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnRL) has been studied for their wound healing efficacy as well as in vivo antibacterial efficacy. Thus, this study evaluates the efficacy of ZnRL to heal an excised infected wound, which was compared with the healing efficacy of rhamnolipid and clindamycin. The study revealed that rhamnolipid-coated zinc oxide nanoparticles possess promising wound healing efficacy with prominent antibacterial activity in the rat model. Prominent wound healing in a Staphylococcus aureus infected excised wound was observed on the 5th day of the treatment when the wound site was treated with 100 µl of 0.5 mg/ml of ZnRL. This concentration of ZnRL was found to exhibit efficient antibacterial activity against the pathogen, thereby decreasing the amount of pathogen in the wound site. ZnRL exhibited efficient wound contraction, thereby decreasing the size of the wound prominently in 5 days. Histological study revealed efficient tissue remodelling in ZnRL-treated skin which resulted in rapid formation of the epidermis and recruitment of various dermal cells within the 5th day of treatment. The study also revealed the non-cytotoxic effect of the nanoparticles in fibroblast cell line L929 and the non-haemolytic effect against blood cells, indicating its potential in pharmaceuticals.