Abstract

Microfluidics-based Generation of Curcumin-loaded Microfibers for Biofilm Remedy Using Photodynamic Therapy

Kajal Sharma, PhD Student, IITB-Monash Research Academy

The rapid increase in multidrug-resistant biofilm infections is a major concern for global health. Thus, highly effective therapy is required for the treatment of biofilm-related infections. In this study, curcumin loaded alginate microfibers were generated using the microfluidic technique. In this strategy, the alginate microfiber is used as a carrier for the encapsulation of the curcumin, which then is irradiated with blue light, photodynamic therapy (PDT) to assess the efficacy of combined therapy against the drug-resistant S. aureus. The advantage of utilizing PDT is the non-antibiotic mode of bacterial cell inactivation. In the presence of blue light, PDT the curcumin loaded alginate microfiber has shown a good eradication activity against the infections caused by multi-drug resistant S. aureus. We generated different diameters of the curcumin loaded alginate microfiber by varying the system flow rates, and the process was imaged using an inverted optical microscope (Nikon Eclipse Ti-S, Japan) connected to a high-speed camera (FASTCAM Mini UX100, Japan). The curcumin loaded microfiber was characterized using Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Further, the efficacy of curcumin loaded alginate microfibers in presence of blue light has been evaluated against biofilm forming bacterial S. aureus (NCIM 5718) by confocal and optical microscopy. In summary, in this work, we present an efficacious and cost-effective micro-fibrous scaffold for the controlled release of curcumin to treat biofilm in presence of blue light.