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The epidermis is a skin layer, which protects an organism from the different factors of external environment. Therefore, the fast and effective regeneration of epidermis is important. Potential materials used for epidermis regeneration may be polyurethane scaffolds in form of the thin permeable layers. One and main disadvantage of such polyurethane scaffolds are their lack of antibacterial and antifungal properties. The great proposition to improve antiseptic properties of polyurethane epidermis scaffolds is to modify them with the use of substances, which reveal antiseptic, antimicrobial, and/or antifungal properties like cinnamaldehyde (CA). The great advantage speaking in favor of this compound is the fact that it has been approved and concerned as generally safe by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA. In this paper was described the fabrication of antibacterial microporous polyurethane scaffolds (MPTLs) in a form of a thin layers by using solvent-casting/particulate-leaching technique combined with thermally induced phase separation. Obtained MPTLs were modified with CA at different concentrations (0.5–5%): to establish the most suitable antibacterial effect of the CA introduced into the MPTLs matrix. Obtained unmodified and CA-modified MPTLs were characterized by mechanical and physicochemical properties as well as by identification of their antibacterial performance. The performed studies revealed that the most relevant antimicrobial effect of CA-modified MPTLs was observed when the CA concentration was 3.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter is a major foodborne pathogen and can be acquired through consumption of poultry products. With 1.3 million United States cases a year, the high prevalence of Campylobacter within the poultry gastrointestinal tract is a public health concern and thus a target for the development of intervention strategies. Increasing demand for antibiotic-free products has led to the promotion of various alternative pathogen control measures both at the farm and processing level. One such measure includes utilizing essential oils in both pre- and post-harvest settings. Essential oils are derived from plant-based extracts, and there are currently over 300 commercially available compounds. They have been proposed to control Campylobacter in the gastrointestinal tract of broilers. When used in concentrations low enough to not influence sensory characteristics, essential oils have also been proposed to decrease bacterial contamination of the poultry product during processing. This review explores the use of essential oils, particularly thymol, carvacrol, and cinnamaldehyde, and their role in reducing Campylobacter concentrations both pre- and post-harvest. This review also details the suggested mechanisms of action of essential oils on Campylobacter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]