Assessment of dermal biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity of silver-made nipple cap

Abstract

Breastfeeding is considered a gold standard for infant development. However, several complications such as nipple fissure, infection and ulceration might be accomplished during nursing, which may lead to early cessation of breastfeeding. For this purpose, silver-made nipple cap SilverNurse (R) (SN) has been designed to control symptoms of nipple fissure in lactating women by aiming to eliminate antimicrobial resistance compared to the alternative treatment methods. Therefore, aim of the present study is to assess antimicrobial efficacy and dermal safety of silver-made SN in context of biocompatibility with cytotoxicity assay, in vitro EpiDetin skin irritation and in vivo skin irritation tests. According to the represented results, SN exhibited potent antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia soli, Enterococcus hirae, and Pseudonionas aeruginosa bacteria as well as Candida albicans fungi. Cytotoxicity by MTT assay showed that prepared extract of SN has a lack of cytotoxicity in tested concentrations. In addition, in vitro EpiDerm skin irritation model and in vivo skin test demonstrated that SN can be classified as biocompatible and non-irritant for dermal use without any sign of erythema and edema. Therefore, in the present study, it was evaluated that SN can be applied safely in daily comfort fields for lactating women without dermal complications related to infection and skin irritation.