Antimicrobial Coatings with Essential Oils for Biofilm Control

The thesis investigates the development of release-based chitosan antimicrobial coatings with eugenol, an essential oil component, as a main bioactive compound and the characterisation of their chemical, physical, pH-responsive release and antimicrobial properties. Although the chitosan coatings showed some antimicrobial activity against planktonic and sessile adherent bacteria, the incorporation of eugenol was demonstrated to be essential to its optimal antibiofilm and antimicrobial activities. The coating in this work serves as a base for future developments of chitosan-based materials incorporated with other antibiotic alternatives that can be used as an effective strategy to prevent biofilm formation on medical devices.