AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Despite established prevention strategies such as standardized skin antisepsis with alcohol rubs, the consequences of nosocomial infections continue to take serious social and economic tolls. Recent discoveries concluded that new targets must be considered for the development of modern antiseptic agents and procedures. Studies have shown that a large number of microorganisms are located within and in the immediate vicinity of the hair follicle shaft, suggesting that the hair follicles act as bacterial reservoirs. Recent investigations have demonstrated that hair follicles also play an important role in skin penetration. In particular, nano-sized liposomes were found to be efficient carriers for drug delivery into the hair follicle. Based on these results, this summary provides an overview of subsequent in vitro and in vivo experimental studies assessing the antiseptic effectiveness of nano-sized liposomes with the bound disinfectant polihexanide. The in vitro study examined the follicular penetration of the curcumin-labeled particle-associated polihexanide into porcine ear skin using laser scanning microscopy. The follicular penetration depth was compared to that of the same curcumin-labeled nanoparticles without bound antiseptic. The images acquired in the transmission and the fluorescent modi were superimposed in order to visualize the distribution of the fluorescent dye inside the hair follicles. While quantitative and qualitative results confirmed the efficient penetration of both solutions into the hair follicles, the average penetration depth of the particles with bound polihexanide was significantly higher than that of particles without bound antiseptic. In the in vivo investigation on the volunteers, bacterial growth was monitored after antisepsis over a period of 2.5 h using swabbing of the skin and bacterial counts. The antiseptic potential of the particle-associated polihexanide was compared to that of a conventional aqueous polihexanide solution. Though not statistically significant in this case, results suggested that the use of a particle-bound antiseptic could accomplish a better and longer lasting antisepsis than in non-particular form. An additional review article was published to provide an overview on the subject of targeted delivery of antiseptics to hair follicles and to evaluate their clinical potential. This overview addressed, in particular, the emerging methods of particle-associated disinfectants and tissue-tolerable plasma (TTP). Die Folgen von nosokomialen Infektionen führen trotz etablierter Präventionsstrategien wie die standardisierte Hautantiseptik mit Alkohollösungen weiterhin zu schwerwiegenden sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Schäden. Neuere Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass künftig neue Ziele für die Entwicklung von modernen Desinfektionsmitteln und Verfahren berücksichtigt werden müssen. Forschungsarbeiten haben offenbart, dass sich eine große Anzahl von Mikroorganismen innerhalb und in unmittelbarer Nähe der Haarfollikel Kanäle befinden. Diese Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass…