¹Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Yeditepe University, Ataşehir, İstanbul, Turkey
²Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University, Ataşehir, İstanbul, Turkey
³Faculty of Pharmacy, Drug, Cosmetic and Medical Device Research-Development and Analysis Laboratory, Yeditepe University, Ataşehir, İstanbul, Turkey
⁴Faculty of Pharmacy, Microbiology Laboratory, Yeditepe University, Ataşehir, İstanbul, Turkey DOI : 10.29228/jrp.66 Breastfeeding is considered a gold standard for infant development. However, several complications such as nipple fissure, infection and ulceration might be accomplished during nursing, which may lead to early cessation of breastfeeding. For this purpose, silver-made nipple cap SilverNurse® (SN) has been designed to control symptoms of nipple fissure in lactating women by aiming to eliminate antimicrobial resistance compared to the alternative treatment methods. Therefore, aim of the present study is to assess antimicrobial efficacy and dermal safety of silver-made SN in context of biocompatibility with cytotoxicity assay, in vitro EpiDerm skin irritation and in vivo skin irritation tests. According to the represented results, SN exhibited potent antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus hirae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria as well as Candida albicans fungi. Cytotoxicity by MTT assay showed that prepared extract of SN has a lack of cytotoxicity in tested concentrations. In addition, in vitro EpiDerm skin irritation model and in vivo skin test demonstrated that SN can be classified as biocompatible and non-irritant for dermal use without any sign of erythema and edema. Therefore, in the present study, it was evaluated that SN can be applied safely in daily comfort fields for lactating women without dermal complications related to infection and skin irritation. Keywords : Silver; biocompatibility; skin irritation; EpiDerm SIT; antimicrobial activity