Effect of chitosan membranes against gram-negative bacteria isolated from cutaneous ulcers

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effectiveness of membranes developed with pure chitosan and chitosan in a mixture with glycerol-honey against gram-negative bacteria isolated from skin ulcers. The membranes were prepared by the solvent evaporation technique. The identification and antibiotic sensitivity of microorganisms were determined in microplates, and in vitro tests were developed by the agar diffusion technique. The most frequently isolated microorganism was Escherichia coli with 43.75 % prevalence. All membranes showed antimicrobial effects by direct contact against Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Morganella morganii. Antibiograms showed that most of these microorganisms are multi-resistant to antibiotics. All of this suggests that chitosan-based membranes are a safe alternative for the treatment of infected cutaneous ulcers compared to traditional antibiotics. The outcomes of this study confirm that membranes made of a biodegradable polymer, such as chitosan have activity against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria that grow in infected skin ulcers.