Topical treatment of wound infections is often a challenge due to limited drug availability\nat the site of infection. Topical drug delivery is an attractive option for reducing systemic side effects,\nprovided that a more selective and sustained local drug delivery is achieved. In this study, a poorly\nwater-soluble antibiotic, ciprofloxacin, was loaded on polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-based foils and\nnanofiber mats using acetic acid as a solubilizer. Drug delivery kinetics, local toxicity, and\nantimicrobial activity were tested on an ex vivo wound model based on full-thickness human skin.\nWounds of 5 mm in diameter were created on 1.5 * 1.5 cm skin blocks and treated with the\ninvestigated materials. While nanofiber mats reached the highest amount of delivered drug after 6\nh, foils rapidly achieved a maximum drug concentration and maintained it over 24 h. The treatment\nhad no effect on the overall skin metabolic activity but influenced the wound healing process, as\nobserved using histological analysis. Both delivery systems were efficient in preventing the growth\nof Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in ex vivo human skin. Interestingly, foils loaded with 500 microg of\nciprofloxacin accomplished the complete eradication of biofilm infections with 1 * 109\nbacteria/wound. We conclude that antimicrobial-loaded resorbable PVP foils and nanofiber mats\nare promising delivery systems for the prevention or topical treatment of infected wounds.
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