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Chronic wounds and their treatment present a significant burden to patients and healthcare systems alike, with their management further complicated by bacterial infection. Historically, antibiotics have been deployed to prevent and treat infections, but the emergence of bacterial antimicrobial resistance and the frequent development of biofilms within the wound area necessitates the identification of novel treatment strategies for use within infected chronic wounds. Here, several non-antibiotic compounds, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), curcumin, retinol, polysorbate 40, ethanol, and D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate 1000 (TPGS) were screened for their antibacterial and antibiofilm capabilities. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and crystal violet (CV) biofilm clearance against two bacteria frequently associated with infected chronic wounds, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were determined. PHMB was observed to have highly effective antibacterial activity against both bacteria, but its ability to disperse biofilms at MIC levels was variable. Meanwhile, TPGS had limited inhibitory activity but demonstrated potent antibiofilm properties. The subsequent combination of these two compounds in a formulation resulted in a synergistic enhancement of their capability to kill both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa and disperse their biofilms. Collectively, this work highlights the utility of combinatory approaches to the treatment of infected chronic wounds where bacterial colonization and biofilm formation remains significant issues.

The rapid rise in the health burden associated with chronic wounds is of great concern to policymakers, academia, and industry. This could be attributed to the devastating implications of this condition, and specifically, chronic wounds which have been linked to invasive microbial infections affecting patients’ quality of life. Unfortunately, antibiotics are not always helpful due to their poor penetration of bacterial biofilms and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore antibiotics-free compounds/formulations with proven or potential antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound healing efficacy. The mechanism of antibiotics-free compounds is thought to include the disruption of the bacteria cell structure, preventing cell division, membrane porins, motility, and the formation of a biofilm. Furthermore, some of these compounds foster tissue regeneration by modulating growth factor expression. In this review article, the focus is placed on a number of non-antibiotic compounds possessing some of the aforementioned pharmacological and physiological activities. Specific interest is given to Aloevera, curcumin, cinnamaldehyde, polyhexanide, retinoids, ascorbate, tocochromanols, and chitosan. These compounds (when alone or in formulation with other biologically active molecules) could be a dependable alternative in the management or prevention of chronic wounds.