Copaiba essential oil loaded-nanocapsules film as a potential candidate for treating skin disorders: preparation, characterization, and antibacterial properties

[Display omitted] •Nanocapsules (NC) of Copaiba essential oil (CO) have been successfully developed.•CO and CO-NC were successfully incorporated into chitosan-based films (CSF).•FTIR and HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of Polycaprolactone and CO in CSF.•CO-NC improves the stability of CO in the chitosan matrix.•The new films provided antibacterial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Infections have emerged as a novel target in managing skin and mucosa diseases. Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials and biofilm elimination from surfaces remains a challenge. Because polymeric nanocapsules (NC) can increase antimicrobial activity, this study aimed to produce and characterize NC into chitosan films (CSF). Copaiba essential oil (CO) presents antimicrobial activity and was chosen to load NC. In addition, the antibacterial activity was evaluated to obtain a new biodegradable polymeric platform system with the potential to treat topical diseases associated with bacterial infections. The CO-NC produced by nanoprecipitation presented particle size lower than 250 nm, negative charge, and encapsulation efficiency higher than 70 %. Direct incorporation of CO into CSF (CO-CSF) by casting method worsened the film’s characteristics. However, incorporating CO-NC into CSF (CO-NC-CSF) avoided these drawbacks demonstrating improved physical, mechanical, morphological, and topographical properties. FTIR results demonstrated possible intermolecular interactions among the polymers and CO. The CO-NC-CSF and CO-CSF presented antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, especially the formulation containing 1 % of CO. These results indicated that CO-NC-CSF is a promising candidate for treating skin disorders.