Staphylococcus aureus is a virulent pathogen and a major causative agent of superficial and invasive skin and
soft tissue infections (SSSTIs). Antibiotic resistance in S. aureus, among other bacterial pathogens, has rapidly increased, and this is placing an enormous burden on the health care sector and has serious implications for infected individuals, especially immunocompromised patients. Alternative treatments thus need to be explored to continue to successfully treat
infections caused by S. aureus, including
antibiotic-resistant strains of S. aureus. In this study, an antimicrobial nanofiber
wound dressing was generated by electrospinning
nisin (Nisaplin) into poly(
ethylene oxide) and
poly(d,l-lactide) (50:50) blend nanofibers. Active
nisin diffused from the nanofiber
wound dressings for at least 4 days in vitro, as shown by consecutive transfers onto plates seeded with strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The
nisin-containing nanofiber
wound dressings significantly reduced S. aureus Xen 36 bioluminescence in vivo and viable cell numbers in a murine excisional skin
infection model. The bacterial burden of
wounds treated with
nisin-containing nanofiber
wound dressings was 4.3 × 10(2) CFU/
wound, whereas
wounds treated with control nanofiber
wound dressings had 2.2 × 10(7) CFU/
wound on the last day of the trial (day 7). Furthermore, the
wound dressings stimulated
wound closure of excisional
wounds, and no adverse effects were observed by histological analysis.
Nisin-containing nanofiber
wound dressings have the potential to treat S. aureus skin
infections and to potentially accelerate wound healing of excisional
wounds.