Nanoformulated herbal compounds: enhanced antibacterial efficacy of camphor and thymol-loaded nanogels

Abstract

Herbal components are highly useful assets for the advancement of novel antibacterial drugs. Nanotechnology holds great promise as an approach to enhance the effectiveness and develop the composition of these substances. The study developed nanogels incorporating camphor, thymol, and a combination derived from the initial nanoemulsions with particle sizes of 103, 85, and 135 nm, respectively. The viscosity of nanogels and the successful loading of compounds in them were examined by viscometery and ATR-FTIR studies. The bactericidal properties of the nanogels were examined against four bacterial strains. The nanogel containing camphor and thymol at 1250 µg/mL concentration exhibited complete growth suppression against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The thymol nanogel at 1250 µg/mL and the camphor nanogel at 2500 µg/mL exhibited complete inhibition of growth on Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli, respectively. Both nanogels showed favorable effectiveness as antibacterial agents and could potentially examine a wide range of pathogens and in vivo studies.

Keywords: Antibacterial properties; Camphor; Nanogel; Nanotechnology; Thymol.

Fig. 1

Steps for conducting antibacterial testing

Fig. 2

DLS profiles of primary nanoemulsions: A: blank nanoemulsion (111 nm), B: camphor-thymol nanoemulsion (135 nm), C: camphor nanoemulsion (103 nm), and D: thymol nanoemulsion (85 nm)

Fig. 3

Analyzing the viscosity curves of the nanogels: A: blank nanogel (Gel(-C)), B: camphor-thymol nanogel (CT-NGEL), C: camphor nanogel (C-NGEL), and D: thymol nanogel (T-NGEL)

Fig. 4

The ATR-FTIR spectra of A: camphor, B: thymol, C: CMC, D: balnk nangel (Gel(-C)), E: camphor nanogel (C-NGEL), F: thymol nanogel (T-NGEL), and G:camphor-thymol nanogel (CT-NGEL)

Fig. 5

The antibacterial properties of the blank nanogel (Gel(-C)), camphor nanogel (C-NGEL), thymol nanogel (T-NGEL), and camphor-thymol nanogel (CT-NGEL) against A: P. aeruginosa, B: E. coli, C: S. aureus, and D: L. monocytogenes