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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.

Sec. Dermatology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1644502

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Transdermal Delivery and Antimicrobial Applications of Cannabinoids: Challenges in Successful Formulations with Therapeutic BenefitsView all articles

Chitosan nanopartciles-encapsulated Cannabis extracts and their antimicrobial potential against skin pathogens

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Ceska zemedelska univerzita v Praze, Prague, Czechia
  • 2Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Universitat Politècnica de València-Universitat de València, València, Spain
  • 3Unidad Mixta UPV-CIPF de Investigación en Mecanismos de Enfermedades y Nanomedicina, Universitat Politècnica de València-Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, València, Spain
  • 4CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, València, Spain
  • 5Department of Botany, Univerzita Karlova, Prague, Czechia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Cannabis compounds are well-known for their therapeutic applications in the treatment of various health issues. These substances, mainly cannabinoids, are known for their antimicrobial properties and ability to interact with various cells through endocannabinoid receptors. However, the limitations of cannabis extract, particularly its viscosity, stickiness, and low bioavailability when applied topically, limit its use in dermatology. To enhance topical applications for treating bacterial infections and dermatophytosis, cannabis extracts were encapsulated in chitosan nanopartciles, an easily accessible and cost-effective. Cannabis extracts were prepared from three cannabis strains differing in content of major cannabinoids, namely Chocolope (THCA-A), Jonas 1 (CBDA), and Hemp G (CBGA), and subsequently were encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles. The resulting particles were characterized, and antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity was evaluated. The mean size of particles ranged from 89.1 ± 24.8 nm for empty nanoparticles to 355.6 ± 101.6 nm for particles containing Hemp G extract. Considering the extract:chitosan ratio (1:10 w/w, 1:20 w/w respectively) and the encapsulation efficiency (EE) range from 44.65 ± 4.39 % to 94.44 ± 0.93 %, total amount of extracts encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles ranged from 2.96 ± 0.05 to 5.61 ± 0.19 % in 1 g of chitosan nanopowder. Most significant antimicrobial effect was observed against the fungi Nannizzia fulva CCF 6025, where the MIC80 of the pure extract from Jonas 1 variety was 256 µg/mL while the encapsulated extract in chitosan nanoparticles (1:10 w/w extract:chitosan ratio) inhibited growth at a concentration of 256 µg/mL of nanoparticles (corresponding to 13.05 ± 0.13 µg/mL of extract). Overall, encapsulation reduced the amount of extract required to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms by up to several times, notably in case of dermatophytes, compared to non-encapsulated extracts. Encapsulation also reduced the cytotoxic effects of the extracts on human keratinocytes. Furthermore, pure high-THCA-A extract and encapsulated extract in chitosan nanoparticles slightly increased cell viability after 72 h exposure in low concentrations compared to control. These results may suggest the chitosan nanopartciles-encapsulated formulations as a suitable topical delivery form of cannabis extracts, offering a possible adjunctive treatment of dermatophytosis and wound healing.

Keywords: Cannabis extracts, Nanochitosan, encapsulation, Antibacterial & Antifungal, wound-healing

Received: 10 Jun 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Skala, Ventura, Morellá-Aucejo, Fraňková, Llopis- Lorente, Bernardos Bau, Tauchen, Kahankova, Hubka and Klouček. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Tomas Skala, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Ceska zemedelska univerzita v Praze, Prague, Czechia

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