Designing, Structural Determination, and Antibacterial Activity of Injectable Ciprofloxacin-loaded gelatin-sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose composite Nanogels against Staphylococcus aureus

Background: The development of nanogels has become an attractive strategy to enhance the antibacterial activity performance of bacteria. Methods: The ciprofloxacin composite nanogels were successfully prepared by electrostatic interaction between gelatin (positive charge) and CMC (negative charge) with the help of sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as ionic crosslinkers, to increase the antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) mastitis infection. The formulation screening, characterization, in vitro release, antibacterial activity, and biosafety were studied. Results: The optimized formulation was fabricated of 20 mg/mL (CMC) and 50mg/mL (gelatin). The optimized ciprofloxacin composite nanogels were homogenous canary yellow suspension with a sedimentation rate of 1 and were incorporated in nano-sized cross-linked polymeric networks. The particle sizes were distributed as, 402.7±1.3 nm, PDI of 0.12±0.01, ZP of -24.5±0.2mv, EE of 74.28%±0.03%, LC of 20.5%±0.05%. Scanning electron microscope images revealed that ciprofloxacin might be incorporated in nano-sized cross-linked polymeric networks. Fourier transform infrared showed that the spontaneous electrostatic interactions between CMC and gelatin produce the network structure and form the composite nanogels. Meanwhile, in vitro release study showed that ciprofloxacin composite nanogels had sustained-release performances. The ciprofloxacin composite nanogels had shown better antibacterial activity against SCV 102 isolate than S. aureus ATCC 29213 and S. aureus 101isolates. The biosafety studies suggested the great promise of the injectable ciprofloxacin composite nanogels as a biocompatible breast injection. Conclusion: This study will afford a potential approach for developing injectable ciprofloxacin-loaded gelatin-CMC composite nanogels for cow S. aureus mastitis therapy.