Fatty Acid Potassium Had Beneficial Bactericidal Effects and Removed Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms while Exhibiting Reduced Cytotoxicity towards Mouse Fibroblasts and Human Keratinocytes

Abstract

Wounds frequently become infected or contaminated with bacteria. Potassium oleate (C18:1K), a type of fatty acid potassium, caused >4 log colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL reductions in the numbers of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli within 10 min and a >2 log CFU/mL reduction in the number of Clostridium difficile within 1 min. C18:1K (proportion removed: 90.3%) was significantly more effective at removing Staphylococcus aureus biofilms than the synthetic surfactant detergents sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) (74.8%, p < 0.01) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) (78.0%, p < 0.05). In the WST (water-soluble tetrazolium) assay, mouse fibroblasts (BALB/3T3 clone A31) in C18:1K (relative viability vs. control: 102.8%) demonstrated a significantly higher viability than those in SLES (30.1%) or SLS (18.1%, p < 0.05). In a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage assay, C18:1K (relative leakage vs. control: 108.9%) was found to be associated with a significantly lower LDH leakage from mouse fibroblasts than SLES or SLS (720.6% and 523.4%, respectively; p < 0.05). Potassium oleate demonstrated bactericidal effects against various species including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium difficile; removed significantly greater amounts of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm material than SLES and SLS; and maintained fibroblast viability; therefore, it might be useful for wound cleaning and peri-wound skin.

Fatty acid potassium improves human dermal fibroblast viability and cytotoxicity, accelerating human epidermal keratinocyte wound healing in vitro and in human chronic wounds

“…Potassium oleate can remove S aureus biofilms more effectively than SLES and SLS/SDS. 11 In this experiment, normal human dermal cells demonstrated significantly greater viability in fatty acid potassium-like caprylic acid (C8), capric acid (C10), lauric acid (C12), oleic acid (C18:1), and linoleic acid (C18:2) than in SLES or SLS in a 24-hour incubation.…”

“…Cleansing with fatty acid salts may aid in wound bed preparation by reducing the infectious biological burden. 11 Therefore, fatty acid potassium is a useful detergent for wound cleaning that does not interfere with wound healing, as noted in the scratch assay using human epidermal keratinocytes.…”

“…It also removed significantly greater amounts of S aureus biofilm material than sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulphate/sodium dodecyl sulphate (SLS/SDS), and maintained fibroblast viability with lower cytotoxicity; therefore, it may be useful for wound cleaning and periwound skin healing. 11 We compared the anionic fatty acid potassium components with other anionic surfactants, such as SLES and SLS/SDS, in terms of cytotoxicity, cell viability and wound healing, and tested a natural soap containing fatty acid salts on chronic wounds for 2 weeks using non-…”

“…It also removed significantly greater amounts of S aureus biofilm material than sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulphate/sodium dodecyl sulphate (SLS/SDS), and maintained fibroblast viability with lower cytotoxicity; therefore, it may be useful for wound cleaning and peri‐wound skin healing. 11 …”

New Innovations in Wound Healing and Repair

“…This Special Issue achieved this goal with the inclusion of 19 outstanding papers that highlight the innovative approaches researchers from around the world are undertaking to improve healing and reduce scar formation. It includes articles that outline new approaches to reduce wound infection [1,2] as well as studies aimed at developing new in vitro chronic wound models as alternatives to animal experimentation [3]. The interest in natural products as potential wound agents is evidenced through three articles that investigated healing responses to honey [4], deoxyshikonin [5], and anthocyanins extacted from Oryza sativa L [6].…”