Development of an Invisible glove incorporating essential oils on nanotechnology and determining its antimicrobial potency

The usage of rubber gloves destroys the biodiversity of the environment due to their non-biodegradable nature. So, the idea of antimicrobial cream was formulated considering essential oils as antimicrobial agents encapsulated on silver nanoparticles to reduce the landfill and as an option of an environmentally friendly option for gloves. The invisible biodegradable glove is the advancement of the commercially available antimicrobial creams which, if found potent enough, can replace the usage of gloves. This antimicrobial cream acts as a skin guard against the bacteria which are commonly found in laboratories. While ensuring the user's safety, this protective skin guard cream will be a sustainable substitute for conventional gloves. Additionally, essential oils are fragrant, fatty liquids that may be extracted from various plant sections. Known for their therapeutic effects, primarily antibacterial. Tea tree, lemon grass and eucalyptus essential oil were used as API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) i.e., as antimicrobial agents in the formulated cream. Moreover, the potential of these oils to maintain therapeutic medication blood levels while enhancing the solubility, stability, and effectiveness of formulations based on essential oils has led to the proposal of nanoencapsulation of these oils in drug delivery systems. Antimicrobial assays were performed on the formulated cream which confirmed the antimicrobial potency of the cream. An antimicrobial disc diffusion test was done to determine the antimicrobial potency based on the zone of inhibition. A surface swab test was performed to determine the period for re-application. Additionally, Thin-layer chromatography (TLC)- bioautography with agar diffusion determined the diffusion properties of essential oils. All these tests were performed against the most commonly available bacteria in our laboratories environment i.e., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis. To conclude, antimicrobial assays performed confirmed the antimicrobial potency of the formulated cream. However, further studies are required to increase the efficiency of the cream and to determine the time for re-application.