Traditionally synthetic textile
dyes are hazardous and toxic compounds devoid of any
biological activity. As nanoencapsulation of yellow everzol textile
dye with
chitosan has been shown to produce biocompatible nanoparticles which were still capable of dyeing textiles, this work aims to further characterize the biocompatibility of yellow everzol nanoparticles (NPs) and to ascertain if the produced nanoencapsulated
dyes possess any
biological activity against various skin pathogens in vitro assays and in a cell
infection model. The results showed that the NPs had no deleterious effects on the HaCat cells' metabolism and cell wall, contrary to the high toxicity of the
dye. The
biological activity evaluation showed that NPs had a significant antimicrobial activity, with low MICs (0.5-2 mg/mL) and MBCs (1-3 mg/mL) being registered. Additionally, NPs inhibited biofilm formation of all tested microorganisms (inhibitions between 30 and 87%) and biofilm quorum sensing. Lastly, the
dye NPs were effective in managing MRSA
infection of HaCat cells as they significantly reduced intracellular and extracellular bacterial counts.