Peppermint Essential Oil-Doped Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles with Antimicrobial Properties.

This study aimed at developing an antimicrobial material based on hydroxyapatite (HAp) and peppermint essential oil (P-EO) in order to stimulate the antimicrobial activity of hydroxyapatite. The molecular spectral features and morphology of the P-EO, HAp and hydroxyapatite coated with peppermint essential oil (HAp-P) were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The coating of the HAp with the P-EO did not affect the ellipsoidal shape of the nanoparticles. The overlapping of IR bands of P-EO and HAp in the HAp-P spectrum determined the formation of the broad molecular bands that were observed in the spectral regions of 400-1000 cm and 1000-1200 cm. The antibacterial activity of the P-EO, HAp and HAp-P were also tested against different Gram-positive bacteria (methicillin-resistant (MRSA) 388, ATCC 25923, ATCC 6538, DSM 13590), Gram-negative bacteria ( ATCC 25922, C5, ATCC 27853, ATCC 9027) and a fungal strain of . The results of the present study revealed that the antimicrobial activity of HAp-P increased significantly over that of HAp.