Nanophyto-gel against multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn wound infection

Burn wound is usually associated by antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection that worsens and complicates its management. An effective approach is to use natural antibiotics such as cinnamon oil as a powerful alternative. This study aims to investigate topical nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) gel loaded cinnamon oil for Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infection. A 2⁴ full factorial design was performed to optimize the formulation with particle size 108.48 ± 6.35 nm, zeta potential -37.36 ± 4.01 mV, and EE% 95.39 ± 0.82%. FTIR analysis revealed no excipient interaction. Poloxamer 407 in a concentration 20% w/w NLC gel was prepared for topical application. Drug release exhibited an initial burst release in the first five hours, followed by a slow, sustained release of up to five days. NLC-cinnamon gel has a significant ability to control the drug release with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration again P. aeruginosa compared to other formulations (p < .05). In vivo study also showed NLC-cinnamon gel effectively healed the infected burned wound after a six-day treatment course with better antibacterial efficacy in burned animal models. Histological examination ensured the tolerability of NLC-cinnamon gel. The results suggest that nanoparticle-based cinnamon oil gel is a promising natural product against antibiotic-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa in wound infection.