en Other Other پژوهشي orginal article <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Background & Aims</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">: </span></b>&nbsp;<i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Thymus vulgaris</span></i><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> L. belonging to the Lamiaceae family has been widely used for medicinal purposes. <i>T. vulgaris </i>essential oil (EO), which is derived from the aerial parts of the plant, has shown potent antimicrobial activities in previous studies. However, its hydrophobic nature limits its application as a natural antimicrobial agent. Focusing on this problem, the objective of this survey was to develop a nano-sized delivery system of the EO not only to enhance the water solubility but also protect it from degradation<b>. </b></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Materials & Methods</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">:</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> &nbsp;In this study, <i>T. vulgaris</i> EO-loaded nanoemulsion was prepared using Tween 80 and Span 60 (surfactants) via high-pressure homogenization and physicochemical characteristics, long-term stability and antimicrobial activity on a broad range of microorganisms were evaluated. </span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Results</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">:</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> &nbsp;The GC-MS of the EO showed that thymol was the primary compound with a 45.6% value. TEM and AFM images showed the spherical shape of nanoparticles with an average droplet size of 175.6 &plusmn; 0.96 nm. Interestingly, the final formulation had significantly lower MICs and MBCs in comparison with pure oil. Furthermore, it showed the lowest MIC and MBC values against <i>Ent. faecalis</i> and <i>B. subtilis</i>, respectively. Regarding the antifungal effects of the formulation, it was more effective on <i>C. albicans</i> than <i>A. niger</i>. </span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Conclusion</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">: </span></b>&nbsp;<span style="font-size:9.0pt">The obtained data revealed that encapsulation of the EO as nanoemulsion significantly elaborates its antimicrobial properties, which can be considered as an stable and effective antimicrobial formulation for various purposes such as a food preservative.</span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-size:9.0pt"></span></span></span></span> Antimicrobial Activity, Essential Oil, Nanoemulsion, Physicochemical Characteristics, Thymus Vulgaris L 109 122 http://ijrabms.umsu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-275-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Maryam Hassan mhassan@zums.ac.ir 10031947532846002564 10031947532846002564 Yes Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics, Zanjan Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Tina Khalilzadeh TIKHA1@ulaval.ca 10031947532846002565 10031947532846002565 No Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec, Canada Somayeh Sadighian sadighian@zum.ac.ir 10031947532846002566 10031947532846002566 No Assistant Professor of Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Alireza Yazdinezhad yazdinezhad@zums.ac.ir 10031947532846002567 10031947532846002567 No Associate Professor of Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Hossein Rahmati Zare hosseinrhz1416@gmail.com 10031947532846002568 10031947532846002568 No Department of Drug control, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran