Fabrication of Phaeodactylum tricornutum extract-loaded gelatin nanofibrous mats exhibiting antimicrobial activity

Microalgae have recently been recognized as a valuable resource for various applications. Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a diatom that lives in marine water and has an unusually high content of lipids. In this study, we added P. tricornutum into a gelatin dope solution to examine the effect of this diatom using electrospinning. The addition of P. tricornutum extracts increased the conductivity of the dope solution but had little effect on the viscosity. Due to the increased conductivity, the fiber diameter was reduced compared with the neat gelatin nanofiber. The loading of P. tricornutum extracts was confirmed using fluorescence microscopy, and the incorporation of lipids was detected through gas chromatography. The P. tricornutum-loaded nanofiber mat exhibited anti-microbial activity against Escherichia coli and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The cell viability test showed that the P. tricornutum-loaded nanofiber has no cytotoxicity. We expect that this antimicrobial P. tricornutum-loaded gelatin nanofiber mat can be applied as a wound dressing.