Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of antimicrobial activity of novel Chitosan/tigecycline composite

Abstract With the increase of antibiotic resistance currently available at an alarming rate, new improved films of Chitosan (CS) have been achieved with different levels of Tigecycline (TIGE) using traditional casting technology. The structural, optical, and morphological characterizations of the prepared (CS/TIGE) composites were investigated using XRD, FT-IR, UV–visible, and FE-SEM. Also, the antibacterial characterization was investigated. XRD pattern shows a semi-crystalline peak at 2θ = 21° begins to appear at Cs/TIGE2 concentration and its intensity increase with increasing TIGE concentration which indicate the interaction between TIGE and Cs. FT-IR reveals conservation of the distinctive bands with change in both intensity and position that attributed to increase the ratios of TIGE in Chitosan. UV–vis spectra confirmed the interaction of the CS and the drug TIGE. FE-SEM photos confirm the increasing of TIGE particles on the surface of CS/TIGE films by increasing the ratios of TIGE. The antimicrobial effect of Chitosan and five different ratios of Chitosan with TIGE have been identified against four different bacterial species, two gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis) and two gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The obtained results indicated that the composite Cs/TIGE can be used in many antimicrobial applications because of its greatly antimicrobial activity.