Feasibility study of the sterilization of pigskin used as wound dressings by neutral electrolyzed water

Effect of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water on Growth, Diarrhea and Intestinal Bacteria of Newly Weaned Piglets

As an environmentally-friendly agent, slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) was introduced in drinking water of newly weaned piglets for diarrhea prevention. In total, 72 piglets were employed and 3% SAEW was added into the normal temperature and warm (30 °C) tap water, respectively, for this 33-day feeding experiment. It was found that the total bacteria and coliforms in the drinking water were reduced by 70% and 100%, respectively, with the addition of 3% SAEW. After SAEW treatment, the average daily water and feed intakes of piglets were increased during the first 16 days, and the diarrhea rate was reduced by 100%, with not one case of diarrhea recorded at the end of the experiment. The microbiome results demonstrated that SAEW decreased the diversity of caecum bacteria with normal tap water supplied, and increased the richness of the caecum bacteria with warm tap water supplied. SAEW also increased the abundance of potentially beneficial genera Sutterella and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 and reduced the abundance of pathogenic Faecalibacterium. Moreover, twelve metabolic functions belonging to the cluster of metabolism and organismal functions, including digestion and the endocrine and excretory systems, were greatly enhanced. Correlation analysis indicated that the influence of intestinal pathogens on water and feed intakes and the diarrhea of piglets were decreased by SAEW. The results suggest that SAEW can be used as an antibiotic substitute to prevent diarrhea in newly weaned piglets.

Engineered Pullulan-Collagen-Gold Nano Composite Improves Mesenchymal Stem Cells Neural Differentiation and Inflammatory Regulation

Tissue repair engineering supported by nanoparticles and stem cells has been demonstrated as being an efficient strategy for promoting the healing potential during the regeneration of damaged tissues. In the current study, we prepared various nanomaterials including pure Pul, pure Col, Pul–Col, Pul–Au, Pul–Col–Au, and Col–Au to investigate their physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, biological functions, differentiation capacities, and anti-inflammatory abilities through in vitro and in vivo assessments. The physicochemical properties were characterized by SEM, DLS assay, contact angle measurements, UV-Vis spectra, FTIR spectra, SERS, and XPS analysis. The biocompatibility results demonstrated Pul–Col–Au enhanced cell viability, promoted anti-oxidative ability for MSCs and HSFs, and inhibited monocyte and platelet activation. Pul–Col–Au also induced the lowest cell apoptosis and facilitated the MMP activities. Moreover, we evaluated the efficacy of Pul–Col–Au in the enhancement of neuronal differentiation capacities for MSCs. Our animal models elucidated better biocompatibility, as well as the promotion of endothelialization after implanting Pul–Col–Au for a period of one month. The above evidence indicates the excellent biocompatibility, enhancement of neuronal differentiation, and anti-inflammatory capacities, suggesting that the combination of pullulan, collagen, and Au nanoparticles can be potential nanocomposites for neuronal repair, as well as skin tissue regeneration in any further clinical treatments.

Validation of Three Different Sterilization Methods of Tilapia Skin Dressing: Impact on Microbiological Enumeration and Collagen Content

Tilapia fish skin has demonstrated promise as a stable and practical biological dressing to be used in wound and burn management. However, the appropriate sterilization technique of the Tilapia fish skin is crucial before its clinical application. The standard sterilization technique must eliminate harmful pathogens but maintain the structural and biochemical properties that could compromise the dressing function. This study investigated and compared the efficiency of three sterilizing agents; chlorhexidine gluconate 4% (CHG), povidone iodine 10% (PVP-I), and silver nanoparticles (25 μg/mL) (AgNPs), at three different times (5, 10, and 15 min) on Tilapia fish skin based on the microbial count, histological and collagen properties. Among the sterilization procedures, AgNPs showed rapid and complete antimicrobial activity, with a 100% reduction in microbial growth of the fish skin throughout the treated times. Furthermore, AgNPs did not impair the cellular structure or collagen fibers content of the fish skin. However, CHG and PVP-I caused alterations in the collagen content. This study demonstrated that the AgNPs treatment of Tilapia fish skin provided sterile skin while preserving the histological properties and structural integrity. These findings provide an efficient and quick sterilization method suitable for Tilapia fish skin that could be adopted as a biological dressing.

Injections through skin colonized with Staphylococcus aureus biofilm introduce contamination despite standard antimicrobial preparation procedures

While surgical site preparation has been extensively studied, there is little information about resistance of skin microbiota in the biofilm form to antimicrobial decontamination, and there are no quantitative models to study how biofilm might be transferred into sterile tissue/implant materials during injections for joint spine and tendon, aspiration biopsies and dermal fillers (DF). In this work, we develop two in vitro models to simulate the process of skin preparation and DF injection using pig skin and SimSkin (silicone) materials, respectively. Using the pig skin model, we tested three of the most common skin preparation wipes (alcohol, chlorhexidine and povidone iodine) and found that during wiping they reduced the biofilm bacterial burden of S. aureus (CFU cm-2) by three logs with no statistically significant differences between wipes. Using the SimSkin model, we found that transfer of viable bacteria increased with needle diameter for 30G, 25G and 18G needles. Transfer incidence decreased as injection depth was increased from 1 mm to 3 mm. Serial puncture and linear threading injection styles had similar transfer incidence, whereas fanning significantly increased transfer incidence. The results show that contamination of DF during injection is a risk that can be reduced by modifying skin prep and injection practices.

Flexible and highly interconnected, multi-scale patterned chitosan porous membrane produced in situ from mussel shell to accelerate wound healing

Mussel shell-derived dressing for full-thickness wound healing. The mussel shell-derived, in situ formed flexible membrane dressing promotes wound healing processes.

Slightly acidic electrolyzed water for reducing airborne microorganisms in a layer breeding house

Reducing airborne microorganisms may potentially improve the environment in layer breeding houses. The effectiveness of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW; pH 5.29-6.30) in reducing airborne microorganisms was investigated in a commercial layer house in northern China. The building had a tunnel-ventilation system, with an evaporative cooling. The experimental area was divided into five zones along the length of the house, with zone 1 nearest to an evaporative cooling pad and zone 5 nearest to the fans. The air temperature, relative humidity, dust concentration, and microbial population were measured at the sampling points in the five zones during the study period. The SAEW was sprayed by workers in the whole house. A six-stage air microbial sampler was used to measure airborne microbial population. Results showed that the population of airborne bacteria and fungi were sharply reduced by 0.71 x 10(5) and 2.82 x 10(3) colony-forming units (CFU) m(-3) after 30 min exposure to SAEW, respectively. Compared with the benzalkonium chloride (BC) solution and povidone-iodine (PVP-I) solution treatments, the population reductions of airborne fungi treated by SAEW were significantly (P < 0.05) more, even though the three disinfectants can decrease both the airborne bacteria and fungi significantly (P < 0.05) 30 min after spraying.

IMPLICATIONS

There are no effective methods for reducing airborne microbial levels in tunnel-ventilated layer breeding houses; additionally, there is limited information available on airborne microorganism distribution. This research investigated the spatial distribution of microbial population, and the effectiveness of spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water in reducing microbial levels. The research revealed that slightly acidic electrolyzed water spray was a potential method for reducing microbial presence in layer houses. The knowledge gained in this research about the microbial population variations in the building may assist producers in managing the bird housing environment and engineers in designing poultry houses.