{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:55:00Z","timestamp":1787028900700,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,31]],"date-time":"2020-01-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1580428800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Marine Drugs"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Topical administration of drugs into the vagina can provide local therapy of vaginal infections, preventing the possible systemic side effects of the drugs. The natural polysaccharide chitosan is known for its excellent mucoadhesive properties, safety profile, and antibacterial effects, and thus it can be utilized in improving localized vaginal therapy by prolonging the residence time of a drug at the vaginal site while acting as an antimicrobial in synergy. Therefore, we aimed to explore the potential of chitosan, namely chitosan-coated liposomes and chitosan hydrogel, as an excipient with intrinsic antimicrobial properties. Liposomes were prepared by the thin-film hydration method followed by vesicle size reduction by sonication to the desired size, approximately 200 nm, and coated with chitosan (0.01, 0.03, 0.1, and 0.3%, w\/v, respectively). The mucoadhesive properties of chitosan-coated liposomes were determined through their binding efficiency to mucin compared to non-coated liposomes. Non-coated liposomal suspensions were incorporated in chitosan hydrogels forming the liposomes-in-hydrogel formulations, which were further assessed for their texture properties in the presence of biological fluid simulants. The antibacterial effect of chitosan-coated liposomes (0.03%, 0.1% and 0.3%, w\/v) and chitosan hydrogels (0.1% and 0.3%, w\/w) on Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus was successfully confirmed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/md18020096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,31]],"date-time":"2020-01-31T11:55:56Z","timestamp":1580471756000},"page":"96","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":54,"title":["The Antimicrobial Properties of Chitosan Can Be Tailored by Formulation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"May Wenche","family":"J\u00f8raholmen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Troms\u00f8 The Arctic University of Norway, Universitetsveien 57, 9037 Troms\u00f8, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7780-9794","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abhilasha","family":"Bhargava","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Troms\u00f8 The Arctic University of Norway, Universitetsveien 57, 9037 Troms\u00f8, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kjersti","family":"Julin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research group for Host-Microbe Interaction, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Troms\u00f8 The Arctic University of Norway, Sykehusveien 44, 9037 Troms\u00f8, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mona","family":"Johannessen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research group for Host-Microbe Interaction, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Troms\u00f8 The Arctic University of Norway, Sykehusveien 44, 9037 Troms\u00f8, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4301-2840","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nata\u0161a","family":"\u0160kalko-Basnet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Troms\u00f8 The Arctic University of Norway, Universitetsveien 57, 9037 Troms\u00f8, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vani\u0107, \u017d., and \u0160kalko-Basnet, N. 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